The Publishers New Found Love
by The dudeoffanfiction
Summary: When Crusher Twindler moves into Ponyville, he falls instantly in love with his future business partner Twilight Sparkle. While in one way glad, he is conflicted in how well he will be able to concentrate on his work when the purple mare is always on his mind. First story
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first story on , so don't really expect too much out of my writing. Here is the first chapter, and I will continue. Please review!**

**Chapter 1**

I slowly walked down the road to Ponyville from my house. Here I was, Crusher Twindler, finally about to move into my new home. I may have been born in Manehatten, but I was not into sports, or TV, or even movies as a kid. Despite my rather awkward name, my passion was writing. I enjoyed writing about almost anything. As soon as I learned to write, I would come home after school, grab a pen and a piece of paper, and immediately get to work on some sort of plot idea I had in my head somewhere. Seeing my passion for writing, my dad and mom sent me to a young writer's school in Canterlot. There, I picked up a lot of knowledge about writing, enough to get me enthusiastic about getting a job. While I had already been told not to move to Canterlot or Fillydalphia, I was somewhat interested in moving to Ponyville. The town was quaint, and I heard that most of the ponies who lived there were nice enough people. I consulted the matter with both of my parents, and they seemed to be relieved I didn't want to move to some high profile city like Canterlot. They gave me my condolences, and I packed up my things to move into my home in Ponyville. It was a rather small, and shabby looking old thing, but I was just excited to be living on my own all of a sudden. Either way, the Mayor had told me last night I would be able to buy supplies like ink and paper from Twilight Sparkle, who was apparently the town librarian. Although I was somewhat concerned at having to talk to her as I had never been a very social colt, I was, at the same time, hoping it would be a learning experience for me, moving into such a social town.

And at that moment, I was walking down the street to my new house. However, the way I cautiously lurked about was as if I was a secret agent. This wasn't because I was THAT paranoid about contact with other ponies, it was more because of these words the mayor of Ponyville said to me.

"_Well, that's all you need to know."_

"_Okay then, I'll be seeing…."_

"_Wait! There's one more thing."_

"_Hm,"_

"_To let you know before hand, a pink pony with a frilly mane named Pinkie Pie lives there. She is a very nice young mare, but she will bombard you with welcoming if she sees you. I'd just be wary if you're not into that sort of thing."_

If anything about moving into a new town scared me, it would definitely be that.

After a few minutes, I saw my house in view. I pumped my hoof in victory, and dashed for it. Then, I heard a voice, "Hey, what are you doing?" I shouted as loud as I could, but I continued to run. This caused me to bump into my front door, and fall on the ground. I looked back, and saw the pony was not the pink crazy one, but a blue mare with a rainbow colored mane.

"Oh, sorry 'bout that, just, ya know, thought you were somepony else."

"Okay…." I heard her saw oddly. "Nice to meet ya, the name's Rainbow Dash."

"Crasher Twindler,"

"Odd, ya don't look like a Crusher."  
"It's a long story. I would, ah, like to continue chatting, but I, ah….. Have something to do. See ya later." Predictably, I then dashed into my new house and closed the door behind me. I wanted to talk to her, but being with complete strangers made me uneasy, and I still did NOT want to catch site of the crazy pony. Either way, I took a good look at my house. It was as gray, dusty, and rather drab as I last saw it, but it would do for my writing work. I sat down at the table, and took my ink, quills, and paper out of my bag. However, apparently I had not taking good care of my bad while I was sneaking around. The ink had spilled all over the bad. "Dang it," I said under my breath. I turned towards the door. I REALLY did not want to talk to that Twilight mare, but I didn't have much of a choice now. I used my spying maneuvers to once again reach her house…. Or treehouse. Whatever. And then, I knocked at the door. I witnessed the door open, and then saw a purple dragon with green spines down his back. He looked at me awkwardly, and then said,

"Yeah, what can I do for you?"

"Hey, uh, does a Twilight Sparkle live here?" I saw the dragon turn around, and yell,

"Twilight! There's this weird stallion at the door looking for you." I flinched at his comment, but assumed that was just the kind of dragon he was.

"Coming Spike," I heard from presumably, Twilight. When she reached the door, my heart started pounding at like a thousand beats per second. My eyes widened. She was drop dead gorgeous with beautiful purple eyes, and a lovely coated purple coat. Her mane was brushed in such a beautiful way that it made me want to cat call.

"_Wait, uh oh, this is how I'm going to feel every time I meet my future business partner"_? I thought.

Yeah, not good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

While considering what I should do in my head, I didn't catch Twilight say, "Is there something I can do for you sir?" I more of heard, "For you, sir?" I replied,

"Oh, ah, you don't have to offer me anything, I'll be fine."

"No, I asked you, 'Is there something I can do for you?'."

"Oh, um, well, I," I tried to look into her eyes, but I was worried my mind would dwindle again. "I, well, uh, was wondering two things. One, would you be interested in publishing some books I'll be writing soon? Its kinda why I moved to Ponyville, and writing has always been my passion and all, so I'd appreciate if you did."  
"Of course, it would be an interesting experience. It'd be the first time I ever published books before, but you can count on me to help." She then thought for a moment, and continued. "By the way, what was the other thing?"

"Yeah, well, uh, I ran out of ink so I was wondering if you could lend me some."

"Oh, sure," She then used her magic to pass me a tub of ink, and gave it to me. I thanked her, and then left. I didn't catch what she said to me as I left, but I was in a daze. I even forgot to do my stealthy approach. I had hearts in my eyes, and I was walking in a dopy, lovestruck manner. Although it looked stupid, I couldn't help it. This was the first time I had been in love, and I had never experienced such a rush of emotions before. I heard a gasp near me, and turned to look. My eyes widened. No…. No….. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I yelled as Pinkie Pie ran towards me. Just then, something odd happened. She stopped moving, and I was in the center of attention from pretty much the whole town. Not in a way I could have enjoyed, but being popular is cool, right? At least, that's how I was trying to be optimistic about the whole thing anyways. After a few seconds, I said, "Ow, ah, my tounge, it BURNS! WHY did I ever eat that spicy, chili thing? Eh?" The townspeople shrugged, and turned back to what they were previously doing. Pinkie Pie, however, was not so easy to dispatch.

"Oh my gosh, I've never ever ever ever EVER seen you before! At least, I don't' think I've seen you before, but you look like someone I read about in the newspaper, so, have we met?" I should have said yes, but instead, I answered,

"No." She gasped again, and dashed away as fast as she could. _"Could have been worse," _I thought. I didn't even bother trying my stealthy approach anymore, though. The whole town now probably thought I was a grade A weirdo. Either way, I slowly but surely got back into my house, and tried to drown my thoughts in writing. But after I started writing a few words, it turned into some sort of love letter to Twilight or what not. I tore the paper apart, took out a new one, and sighed. "Is this an obsession, or something not normal at all?"

Twilight finished reading the book she had been reading before Crusher had entered the door.

He seemed to act very oddly towards her. He acted almost as if she was the first mare he had ever talked to. "Hey, Spike," Twilight called out.

"Yeah?" Spike responded dryly.

"Did you notice something weird about that Crusher guy?"  
"Yeah, his name doesn't fit at all!"

"Besides that."  
"Well, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He kept having you rephrase things, and seems socially awkward. I think that's about all I saw. But, there could be something weirder in the midst…"

"That covers almost completely what I was thinking." She then leaned back against a tree, and looked up at the ceiling. "I said I'd work with him, but it almost seems like that's going to be very difficult. What if he starts having trouble communicating sentences tomorrow?"

"Now, you're being paranoid."  
"Huh, guess you're right. But either way, I need to try to relate to him somehow."

"Isn't it, like, too late for that? You can't just change your personality in a day."

"What I mean is, come off differently to him. Like, not be so as straightforward, or be just as detached and lost in his thoughts as him."

"You can't just do that, you have to REALLY have something to be thinking about to lose your nerve while talking to someppony else."

"I suppose so," She then perked up. "Maybe, I'll ask Rarity to make an outfit for him. You know, a Welcome to Ponyville gift? Maybe then, he'd feel more at home here."  
"That may not be such a bad idea,"

"Exactly. Stay at the library. I'll go see what she can do. Bye Spike,"

"Bye Twilight," When she exited the door, he finished, "the paranoid."

I paced back in forth in my lonely establishment, considering what I should do. I walked up to the door, and just then, I saw an invitation on my carpet rug. I picked it up, unfolded it, and then read,

"You're invited to a super awesome surprise party at Sugar Cube Corners! Wish I could tell you what's gonna happen, but you know, that would ruin the surprise! See ya at 2:00 PM sharp!

Signed,

Pinkie Pie."

"Piiiinkie Pie?" I took a few steps backward. It would be mean not to attend. After all, she was going out of her way to throw a party for me. But, how would I deal at a surprise party that probably a lot of ponies would be attending? Either way, I checked the time and realized I needed to get started. The party would start in five minutes. I trotted to Sugar Cube Corners, and when I opened the door, it was black. A second later, I heard a cannon of some sorts go off, the lights went on instantly, and a huge banner saying, "Welcome to Ponyville!" popped up. This all happened while several ponies yelled, "Surprise!"

I stared, my eyes twitching at the sight. I should have guessed, this was a Pinkie Pie party. But either way, _"I guess"_ I put to myself glumly. _"It was time to party."_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Oh, I am SO SO glad you came! I was worried for a second that you wouldn't want to come, I mean, with the way you acted on the road, but you know, never judge a book by its cover, and what do ya know, I was right!"

I forced a grin, but listening to Pinkie's endless prattle was nearly unbearable. I wouldn't say it made me want to shoot myself, no, it made me want to stab myself in the back and let myself die a slow gruesome death. Okay, maybe I was exaggerating, but to someone who is very socially reclusive, it was unbearable.

I reluctantly let Pinkie Pie guide me over to the punch table, and I saw Rainbow Dash leaning against the side of the table. When she noticed me, she chuckled, and said,

"Hey Crusher, 'never actually got to shake your hoof earlier." She then offered it to me. I found the gesture awkward, but grasped her hoof. I instantaneously felt a rapid charge of electricity flow through me as I comically fell over. I heard Rainbow Dash laugh her head off, while Pinkie Pie chuckled as well. "Tell me that wasn't a good joke." Rainbow commented.

"Alright," I smirked. "It wasn't." This brought another round of laughter. It sure sounded like I was being sarcastic, but I wasn't. Just then, I saw the angel, Twilight Sparkle, walk towards me.

"Come on, guys," She said. "Let's play nice with Crusher. He may not be used to this type of behavior." I was letting my jaw drop again. She walked over to me, and whispered in my ear, "I hope you understand they weren't trying to be mean, just trying to bond."

"Oh, bond," I said with wonder. I was relieved that they weren't trying to be mean, but the prank still rubbed me the wrong way.

"Yeah, it's kinda the way we do things here at Ponyville." Just then, I heard a party dance song on the record player.

"You gonna dance?" I inquired.

"Aren't you?"

"Naw, I don't, well, I mean I, well, it's just…"  
"Come on, it's not really that hard." Just then, I felt Pinkie Pie push me onto the dance floor, and I stared as I saw other ponies doing a conga line. It looked hilarious, but I wasn't comfortable doing it. I noticed Twilight motioning her hoof towards me, and I reluctantly joined in. After a few minutes in the line, an cannon went off, and hit me right in the face, effectively taking me out of the conga line. I was about to protest, but then saw I was covered in cake. I guessed it was a form of hazing, or whatever. Either way, I was not very amused, but the other ponies were laughing at how silly I looked in my new coat…. Of cake. I tried to laugh it off, but then saw another pony come out of the stall. She had a pink rosy mane, and a yellow coat with incredibly innocent looking blue eyes. I could tell she looked out of place with all of these other ponies who were partying like crazy. I walked up to her slowly, and said,

"Good evening," I said, trying to sound polite. However, she seemed to be taken aback by the polite comment.

"Um, yeah, uh, hi." I tried to recover myself by putting out my hoof, and stating,

"The name's Crusher, Crusher Twindler. But don't worry, I don't actually 'crush' at all." I chuckled. She let out a sigh, and let out a chuckle that had to be one of the cutest things I had ever heard. I tried to smile, and asked, "So…. Uh, what's your name?"

"Well, um, I…. I'm, Fluttershy."

"That's a nice name, but, you don't have to be so shy. Well, I mean, I'm not THAT bad of a guy when you get to know me."

On the other side of the room, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash watched as newbie Crusher awkwardly tried to converse with Fluttershy.

"Oh, it's so DARLING how they talk to each other! It's obvious they are PERFECT for each other!"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash responded to Rarity. "They're both shy, socially awkward, and rather quiet. The connections definitely there."

"I don't know. He may just be trying to make friends with her, you know?" The other three ponies turned to face Twilight.

"Now, what is THAT supposed to mean, Twilight?"

"Well, I, uh…"

"HUH!" Pinkie Pie gasped. "YOU have a crush on CRUSHER?"

"No, that's not it, it's just…"

"Why else would you seem so pessimistic on what's developing here? You must have some sort of attraction towards him, or else you'd agree with us."

"I'm just stating fact."

"Whatever you say, Twilight." Rainbow Dash finished. Twilight let out an augh, and walked over to a table to get some punch.

"_Of course, I don't like Crusher."_ She thought. She then looked into the bowl of punch. "Do I?"

At 10:00 PM, the party had ended. I had a better time than I thought I'd have, but it was still a bit over the top. I eventually got to know Fluttershy, and she seemed like a really nice mare. Quiet, but still nice. Either way, I was disappointed in the fact I really didn't get a chance to talk to Twilight.

I walked back inside my house, and lit a candle next to my papers as I tried to write another one of my novels. I hadn't been able to get anything down ever since I started talking to Twilight. After the first few words, I had always ended up trashing the story because I didn't feel passionate about writing it. Just then, I had an inspiration. I immediately got to work on my latest story which involved a romance between two ponies whose background leads them to have to meet secretly every night.

Yes, I had finally found something to occupy my free time.

Fluttershy lay down in her bed looking up at the ceiling. She smiled as she remembered Crusher's awkward and rather strange attitude. It, in one way, irked her, but in another way, almost reminded her of how she acted sometimes. She gasped when her mind came upon a realization about the way she may feel about Crusher. She stood up and looked out the window, thinking it over a few times. She then took a huge gasp of air, and sighed.

"_I guess…. I do like him."_

**That's the end of chapter 3. If the romance aspect feels cheesy, or forced, don't worry; it's going to get better over time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I woke up, and tried my best to force my eyes open. I had spent till 4:00 AM writing down my new story, and while I did get 50 pages done, I barely got any sleep. I was going to turn the draft over to Twilight who I felt needed to look over it. I turned over to a picture of my parents. I wondered what my parents would think if I told them about Twilight. I could almost picture what they'd say,

_Mom "Wow, she's high class, are you sure you wanna go after her? She may already have somepony." _

_Dad "By the way you described her, she's WAY too good for you."_

When my dad said things like that, I always knew he was joking. He had treated me like that ever since I was a young colt. But mom was usually a good setback. She was kind, supportive, encouraging, and hard working. However, when things didn't turn out _just _right, she would get paranoid, kinda like I did sometimes. I presume that's where I got that aspect of my personality.

While my dad may be very laid back now, when he was around my age, he was very shy, and very rarely tried to converse with them. Until he met my mom, that is. He was convinced to finally get out of his shell, and that's basically how he turned into the guy he was today.

Although he tried to convince me I was a lot like him at my age, I thought of myself as some sort of freaky mixture that got messed up somewhere in the gene pool. It wasn't that I was pessimistic or anything, it's just kinda how I felt about myself, and I was okay with that.

But, I never _wanted _to turn into a duplicate of my father, as bad as that sounded. I strived to stand out, be different from other ponies. And yet, my life had been turning into a cheesy romance story like my dad's was.

Regardless, I was hoping things would turn out well with Twilight, and maybe I'd get to know her better.

So, I picked up my draft of the first half of my story, stuck it in my bag, and carried it all the way to Twilight's treehouse. I knocked on the door, and again I came face to face with Spike.

"Oh, hey dude, what's up?"  
"Is Twilight here?"  
"Ya don't seem as awkward as you were yesterday,"

"Yeah, well, I mean, I'm trying to get better, ya know?"  
"Now, you sound like yesterday." A vein started to throb in my head.

"But anyways, can I speak to her? It's something to do with a story I'm writing."  
"Okay, okay, whatever. Twilight, that weird dude's here again." Spike _still _annoyed me with comments like that, but I didn't want to get on bad terms with one of Twilight's friends. Especially a friend she lived with.

"Oh, hi again." Twilight said as she got to the door. "I heard you wanted me to look at something you have?"

"Yes, actually, well I," I was starting to get nervous; losing my train of thought. It made me stressed, it made me want to run home and gasp for breath. But, either way, I did my best to recover myself, and continued. "I was wondering if you would like to look over a 50 page draft I wrote for a story I'm, ya know, about to write?"

"Of course," I then handed her the draft. "Thanks, I'm sure whatever you're writing is great."

"Uh, thanks, but it's not nearly as great as how beautiful you look."

"Huh?" I clenched my hoof with my mouth, and shook my head.

"Ah, uh, nothing, actually, I was just, erm, speaking my thoughts about my story. In my honest opinion I think it's something you'll appreciate."

"Out of curiosity, how exactly would you know what I appreciate?"

"Well, I erm, well, I just, goodbye!" I then slammed the door, and ran as fast as I could. I locked myself in my house, and leaned against the door.

"Damn, you're so STUPID!"

Twilight had a stare on her face that clearly showed how weirded out she was by the way Crusher acted. "Huh, told you he was a weirdo." Spike commented.

"I knew he was a little awkward, but I had no idea he was THIS odd."

"I almost thought for a second the party would make him feel more in place, heh, shows how wrong I was."  
"Aren't you being a little bit harsh on him?"

"Not at all. He deserves to be talked about behind his back. The way he acted was kinda rude."  
"I can't really argue that." She walked up the stairs, and looked out her window. "But the thing is, the pony he seems to act REALLY awkward with is me. Why is that?"

"Maybe there's something going on inside his head that we don't know about."  
"Could be,"

"Maybe, ya know, he might, have a crush on you or something. That would go with his name and all…"  
"Spike, that's just not possible!"  
"Why not?"  
"If he liked me, than WHY would he go over to encourage Fluttershy when he's normally so awkward? Because he likes her." She then let out a huff. "Maybe, I come off as mean to him, and that's why he acts so awkward." Spike than put down his broom, and walked up to Twilight.

"Twilight, you're one of the nicest people I know. It's nothing you did that made Crusher so weird."  
"I hope you're right, Spike." Twilight commented as she returned to writing.

Fluttershy walked up to the door, and knocked. She wanted to talk to Crusher again. See how he was doing after the party. She could tell he wasn't acting right. Crusher opened the door, and said,

"Oh, hey Fluttershy, something you need?"  
"Oh, no, it's just, I was wondering, maybe, could we hang out, or, if you're free,"  
"You mean, like a date?"  
"No, no, just a casual hangout, maybe I could show you some of the town."  
"Sure, I need something to distract me from what happened earlier." Fluttershy was happy as he followed her back to her house, describing various locales along the way that he wanted to go. But he seemed down about something. She figured she'd ask him after they got back. After a few minutes, they sat down on the bench, and she finally spoke.

"What exactly, happened, to you earlier?" She saw Crusher put on a frustrated face. "Well, if you don't want to talk about it, then that's fine…"  
"No, I need someone to vent to." He quickly looked both directions, and then turned back to Fluttershy. "You see, I was talking to Twilight earlier, and I messed up by accidentally complimenting her, and things went down from there. This led to me awkwardly leaving as if I was mad, and now she probably thinks I'm crazy."

"Don't worry; Twilight's a very forgiving pony. I think she'd forgive you. But, is there a reason you care of the impression you give off to her?"

"Well, I want to, well, I, okay, fine. Here's the deal; I have a crush on Twilight." Fluttershy then retracted back. He…. Already had somepony in mind? "And that's pretty much why I wanted to impress her." He started to notice her change in mood. "Something wrong?"  
"Oh no, I'm fine, it's just, I may need to get back to tending my animals, so, I guess I'll see you later."  
"Okay, bye, thanks for being willing to listen to my dumb complaints." Fluttershy waved until he was out of sight. She walked back into her house, and sat on the couch. She saw her pet bunny Angel, look up into her eyes with concern.

"Oh, don't worry Angel, I'll be fine." She thought about what happened, and sighed. "But as bad as it sounds, I…. almost want him to forget about Twilight."

I walked back home from my hangout with Fluttershy, and sat at the table. I continued to write, but then stopped for a moment. "Fluttershy seemed fine until I mentioned Twilight, then she seemed, kinda down. I wonder what's bothering her." He turned towards the window, and let out a gasp of air. "Never mind, it's not my place to worry about her personal business." After a few more seconds of writing, he then put down his pen again.

"But still I have to wonder,

Why?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I woke up, literally bouncing out of bed. I was ready to tackle this day, ready for anything that could happen to me. I presumed it was because of how early I went to bed, but still. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. I trotted up to it, and opened the door.

There was a note, and a gift wrapped present of sorts on the ground. I picked up the note, and read it.

"_Dear Crusher,_

_I am sorry that I have not been sensitive enough to realize your fears and apparent paranoia. I didn't approach you the right way, and I am indeed sorry for that._

_Signed,_

_Twilight Sparkle_

_PS. And here is your gift from the Welcome to Ponyville party I almost forgot to give you._

I sighed. She had misconceived my approach as well. And yet, I didn't know whether to be offended or not when she called me 'paranoid'. Either way, I picked up the present, and brought it to my table. I slowly unfolded the wrapping paper, and realized it was a black suit complete with a bow tie. This wasn't just any old suit; it looked like it had been made for royalty! I'd have to thank the seamstress that was able to do this. I fit it on me, and it was just about my size. I smiled to myself.

"_Thanks, Twilight." _

Twilight was writing yet another letter to Princess Celestia. This time, writing accounts of all known planets besides this one. She turned towards Spike, and asked,

"Do you think the note was apology enough?"  
"Of course it was. Seriously Twilight, don't get so paranoid. Besides, I didn't personally think you _needed _to apologize."

"I guess you're right, he was probably happy about the suit, at least."

"Don't be so pessimistic Twilight, I know he doesn't think _anything _bad about you."  
"I at least hope not. After all, I will be working with him."  
"Exactly, so just get back to your studies, and whenever he comes along again, act COMPLETLEY normal for you." Twilight giggled, and then said,

"Okay Spike, I'll try." Sure enough, they heard a knock on the door.

"Alright, I'll answer the door." Spike opened the door, and Crusher was there.

"Hey Spike, I don't really know if Twilight really wants to see me right now, but tell her that I'm REALLY sorry for the way I've been acting."  
"Don't tell that to me, tell it to Twilight." Twilight than walked up to the door in front of Spike.

"Hey, um, well, it's just, ah," She noticed sweat trickle down his forehead. "I'm…. sorry for how I've been acting, I'll try my best to do better. And, thanks for the present."  
"Oh, it was nothing, really, we were planning to give it to you, but you seemed to be having a good time talking to Fluttershy and all." He nodded, and walked inside.

"But I was wondering, have you looked over the draft?"

"Yes, and I have to say, it's an excellent story so far. I can't wait to see how it looks once you're finished."

"Thanks,"

"But, there are a few spelling and grammer errors. When you do your final draft, fix these."  
"Okay, got ya." Twilight smiled.

"Well, see ya later." Crusher nodded, and walked down the road. Twilight was about to turn away, but then noticed him hoof bump. She closed the door and said, "He may not be as bad as he was before, but he still acts a little strange."  
"Well, we do live in the same town as Pinkie Pie, so, he's not quite as bad. Although socially, they are like polar opposites."

"Indeed," She then walked back to the table, and sat down on her chair. Just then, there was another knock on the door. She walked up to it, and heard,

"Hey, um, Twilight. Can I come in?"  
"Sure, Fluttershy. Go right on ahead." Twilight opened the door, and she saw Fluttershy looking more melancholy than usual. She sat down on the couch. "Do you want me to get you something to drink?"

"No thanks." She then sighed, and after a few seconds of fidgeting finally said, "Twilight."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you see…. I have a crush on Crusher." Twilight slightly giggled at how awkward it sounded, but recomposed herself and nodded.

"I wasn't sure, but I was almost suspecting one of you had feelings for the other." She leaned back on her side of the couch. "Do you know if he has the same feelings for you?"

"Yes,"  
"Well, does he?"  
"No, he does not know I have feelings for him. I didn't want to confess til we had hung out for a while, but now, he tells me he has a crush on some other mare. At this point, he only sees me as a close friend."  
"That's still pretty good. He thinks you're someone he can turn to when he's feeling alone. And, that's a good thing. Even if he has…. Who is this other mare?"  
"Oh, um, well, I'm, not supposed to tell anypony. It's a secret."  
"Oh, that makes sense, well, just don't worry. Start to get to know him better, and when you're ready, confess your feelings to him." Fluttershy stared at the wall for a second, and then nodded. "Okay Twilight, I'll try." She then trotted outside. Twilight smiled, and gave a happy sigh. "Well, love comes in all shapes and sizes."  
"You should have started out by telling her that you're not exactly the relationship expert."  
"That might have discouraged her, besides; I gave her pretty sound advice. I think she'll be fine." She looked out the window. "But who could Crusher, ha ha, have a crush on?"

"I don't know," Spike then put an evil grin, and looked to the side. "But I'm gonna find out!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I stood, considering the things that had happened to me. I had only been in Ponyville for a few days, and my life had already started to resemble some sort of lame romance drama. If somepony could even call it that. I continued to write my story, and yet, my thoughts still lingered on Twilight. I may have been close to finishing my novel, but when somepony has feelings for a mare this bad, its kinda hard to concentrate.

After finishing the page I was on, I paced my house again, thoughtfully chomping on an apple. I had thought I heard my window creak open, but then I shrugged it off. I sighed. "If only I had the courage to tell Twilight about what happened." He thought about in his head; Crusher has a crush on Twilight. Indeed, I started to remember why I was given such an odd name.

My parents had noticed that as a baby, I had a tendancy to stomp and break things with my hoofs. Since they were, well, "crushed", that's what they decided to name me. Lame, right? But either way, I was content with my name, even if I would have preferred a different one. If they had known back then that I was going to be a writer, they probably would have changed my name in an instant. My thoughts then started to dwell on Fluttershy. I had been seeing her recently, and again, she was kinda like my confidant, in a sense. I could talk to her about anything, and she would intently listen to whatever I had to say. But I noticed that whenever Twilight came up, she seemed to back down, and put on a more solemn face. Sure, she would still listen to me, but she didn't seem nearly as adamant to learn what I had to say. I took a glance at the calendar, and realized tomorrow was Hearts and Hooves Day. While considered rather unimportant in Manehatten, I had heard that hear it was considered a celebration that ponies celebrated throughout the whole day. I was considering today whether I should ask Twilight if we could do something together tomorrow or something like that. Just then, I heard a knock on the door. I turned to open it, and there was Fluttershy. "Oh, hey Flutter'," I said.

"Hi, Crusher," She walked inside, and I closed the door behind her. She sat down on a couch, and I sat down next to her. She moved a little closer to me in a way that felt a little odd. She realized my reaction, and quickly moved back. "Oh, um, I'm sorry, it's just, I feel safe when I'm close to you, and well, I…"

"No, really, it's fine. You can do that if you want. Besides, it kinda feels nice having some mare as pretty as you." Suddenly realizing the misconceptions that could lead to, I recovered. "I mean, it's just nice to have somepony be with me in my house, ya know? Just because, it gets kinda lonely in here."

"Oh, it's like you've told me, you'd like to talk with ponies more, you just have a hard time conveying your feelings?" She sounded like a psychiatrist at that point.

"Basicially, I mean, most of the ponies in this town are very inviting and all, but, sometimes I feel, out of place. If you catch my drift."  
"Mmmhmm, I kinda feel the same way about myself sometimes. I have a hard time conveying feelings I have for others as well." The air in the room was starting to feel awkward, but before I could change the subject, she said, "Is it okay if I tell you something?"

"Oh, of course it is. You can tell me anything." I said that with a little more confidence than when I normally talked.

"Well, its just, uh…" She was starting to stutter.

"_What's she trying to tell me?" _I thought.

"I have a crush on you, and I was hoping we could maybe do something on Hearts and Hooves Day?" My eyes widened, and she put her hoof on her mouth, obviously embarrassed of the way she had said that. So soon? She wanted to go out so soon? She had feelings for me, but ones I sadly could not say I reciprocated. I didn't know what to do. If I dismissed her, I'd make her feel bad. But if I said yes, I'd have to deal with this problem another time. I heard a knock on the door just then.

"I'll be back in a minute." I told Fluttershy as I opened the door. There, I saw Twilight.

"Hey, Crusher, I came back to tell you I am very impressed with this first copy of your novel, and…." She then noticed Fluttershy. I felt sweat trickle down my mane, and she said,

"Oh, do you have company?" I tried to stay calm, but it was nearly impossible. I tried to come up with an excuse, but before I could speak, she said,

"Oh, I guess you two are busy, so, I'll come back in a few minutes." I shook my head frantically. I was almost surprised Twilight would come up with such a conclusion. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Fluttershy blushing bright red.

"Oh, no, no, no, nothing like that. Fluttershy was just, ya know, well, um, visiting me."

"Oh, okay, why didn't you just tell me that?" I tried to look for another excuse.

"Well, I mean, I, well, uh…."

"It's because Fluttershy was just telling him that she had a crush on him, and the fact that you, the mare he had a crush on, was here, it kinda made him flustered." I recognized the voice as Spike, and turned to see him climb through my window to see the situation. Spike's bluntness probably ruined everything I had cared for. This was not good.

I swear, if Spike was not Twilight's friend, I would have strangled him to death.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys,**

**If anyone's wondering where I was, long story short, I was kept from the internet for a long time. But now I'm back, and here is the next chapter. Sorry to keep you guys waiting, but the events did not allow me to do an update. So, without further ado, here's the next chapter.**

**Chapter 7**

I looked back and forth between Twilight and Fluttershy, who both looked surprised. I was not at all sure how to work this out, but I attempted to calm the situation anyways.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" No one responded. I sighed, knowing an explanation was definitely in order for me now. I opened my mouth to speak, but Twilight stopped me.

"Why, why didn't you just tell me before? You could have solved things faster that way." Her voice wasn't filled with anger, but sympathy and a touch of sadness things had to happen the way they did. I turned towards Fluttershy, but she had taken a few steps back, and she was starting to cry. I noticed Twilight's mood change right after that. She was starting to burst. "Now, Fluttershy has been under the assumption you've been stringing us both along, even if you hadn't admitted your feelings for me yet. You didn't even figure out she had a crush on you. For a writer, you're rather unaware of clichés." That last bit hurt. I still found it hard to believe that she would say such things, such hurtful things, to sensitive old me who was still feeling guilty. I couldn't say a word. "And I can't blame you; if Spike hadn't been spying on you, perhaps…. Perhaps things could have been worked out in a better way. But right now….. I need to get some rest. We all do. I can't think when I'm so ticked." She then grabbed Spike in an angry manner, and trotted out the door. I was now alone with Fluttershy; something I didn't want at this point especially.

I then noticed her do something shocking. She walked up to me, tears in her eyes, and hugged me.

"I'm, I'm sorry I messed things up." She then ran as fast as she could outside my house. I sat down, and now felt tears welt up in my eyes now.

"_Why?"_

"_Why, did I mess things up!"_

"DAMNIT, WHY?!"

Twilight closed the door behind her with a slam. She looked behind her to make sure Spike had come with her.

He had.

"Twilight, I…." Spike didn't get a chance to begin. The full shock of the event came upon her all in one moment. She started to cry. Tears streamed down her face, and she noticed that Spike's face showed a look of extreme guilt. She tried to compose herself, but ultimately failed. Spike slowly walked up to her, and put his hand on her cheek. "Twilight, I'm… I'm sorry. I never should have done what I did. Why should you feel sad for my faults?"  
"I acted like a total complete jerk to him. I never should have said those things."

"He was stringing you both along."  
"I shouldn't have been so naïve. I should have just read his face."  
"I can see your point. It's not hard to tell what he's thinking."

"Thanks," She remarked sarcastically.

"Oh, sorry, I…"  
"No, I'd rather be sarcastic than be mopey the rest of the afternoon." Spike nodded, and turned towards the sun. It was getting close to evening. "What do you think I should do, Spike?" Spike shook his head, and stood next to one of her bookshelves.

"No, Twilight. This is something only you can decide for yourself. I messed up things pretty bad earlier. You are THE smartest pony I know. If anyone could figure her way out of a jam like this, it would definitely be you. I'm no expert at this, not even with my constant swooning over Rarity." Twilight turned towards Spike, surprised to hear such an inspirational speech from him. "Besides, you've got better things to do than worry about half-hearted guys like him anyways." Twilight smiled at Spike, and grabbed him in a warm embrace.

"Thanks Spike," She said in a sweet tone. "I think I know what to do now."

Fluttershy walked down the road, tears flowing down her face. She couldn't believe it. She had finally gotten the courage to speak up about her feelings, and this is the way things had turned out. She wanted to do a lot of things. But for now, venting her sorrows by crying worked just enough for her.

She didn't know exactly where her hooves were taking her. She wasn't really thinking about it. But, whether or not her mind and body were thinking two different things or not, she was now at Rarity's boutique. While the two ponies had very different views on a lot of issues, that didn't stop them from being best friends. She rang her doorbell. Quicker than usual, Rarity opened the door.

"Can I help you…." When she noticed Fluttershy's tears, her face turned into one of concern. "Come here dear." She lead her into the boutique, and sat her down on a couch. "Would you like some tear, darling?"

Fluttershy sniffed, and then shook her head. "No, no thanks." Rarity sat down next to her, and noticed her mane. It's normally 'fabulous' mane do, as she would put it, had been messed up while she was walking outside. Either way, this was no time to worry about her mane.

"Do you have any desire to tell me what happened?"  
"No,"  
"Do you want me to guess?"  
Fluttershy's eyes started to tighten. "No."

"Is there anything I can do to help you? Anything at all?"  
"No!" Fluttershy almost yelled that last part. Rarity, taken aback by the forcefulness of her words, leaned back against the side of the couch.

"I'm sorry, Fluttershy. I had no idea you were in so much pain."

"I just…" At that point, she expected Rarity to say something. She didn't. "Things between me and Crusher… I feel like I… messed things up in telling him how I felt about him."  
"I really don't know how you managed that, darling." Rarity almost chuckled. "You are horrid at messing up anything!" At that point, Fluttershy decided to tell Rarity the whole story. Rarity huffed at the final details.  
"You know what I think, darling?"  
"What?"

"That this Crusher fellow is a complete and total jerk!" Fluttershy was surprised by her insults.

"I don't know…."  
"I have to wonder how you can blame yourself for what happened. He's the one who was clueless enough not to realize the way you felt. He had no sensitivity whatsoever. And then telling you about his crush on Twilight was just, so, so, much like an amateur!" Fluttershy couldn't help it. Rarity's exaggerated melodramatic reaction made her chuckle.

"Oh, I still don't think he's all that."  
"Fluttershy, you are seriously hanging out with the lower class crowd here. He definitely does not deserve you and you most certainly deserve better than him. I don't know how else to say this, but, you need to move on, dear." Fluttershy bit her lip, taking that in for a second. "You see, he may think he's a genius because he's a writer, but he is nowhere near ready to commit to a full term relationship with anybody. I just hope Twilight has come to that same realization. But that's not the point right now. After this point, you have two choices. A, give into him, and tell him how sorry you were, and, if he does feel the slightest bit of guilt, anyways, say he's sorry to, he probably will not even accept you either way. I mean, after all, he is swooning over Twilight after all."  
"Well, I guess I can see your point. But maybe he'll feel differently now…"

"Or B, you can move on with your life, and maybe even find a more sensitive stallion, someone who actually deserves to have such a kind, and good friend like you as their very special somepony. If he comes back to apologize, it may show that he is, in some ways decent, but there is no way he's going to just like that, start going after you.." Rarity was practically gasping for breath at how long she had been talking. Fluttershy heard Opalessence walk up to her, and snuggle against her hooves. "Darling, I want you to understand something most importantly, though," Fluttershy leaned in closer, wondering what she was going to say. "It's your decision what you want to do. I can give you all the advice I can offer, but you are the only one who's allowed to make this decision. I can't decide for you." Fluttershy nodded, and saw it was starting to rain.

"Oh dear, it's starting to rain, I better get going." She didn't get that far, though.

"I can't let you do that darling. I'll let you sleep over."

"But where?"  
"In my bed, of course. I feel fine sleeping on the couch. And, I'll help fix you up after this long day you've had."  
"But Rarity, you REALLY don't have to do that."  
"Nope, you can't stop me now dear, I'll get some night wear." She then rushed off. Fluttershy sighed. She may be generous, but she was also as stubborn as ever.

I had been in the corner for two hours now. I had found out that it had been two hours since the fiasco happened, and all I could feel was guilt.

I had no intention of writing my story.

No intention of eating or drinking.  
I didn't even feel like reading, which was possibly my favorite thing to do next to writing.

All I felt like doing was crying over how bad I must have messed things up with Twilight and Fluttershy.

Part of me wanted to blame Spike.  
Another part of me, this part was more like my angry, raging side, wanted to trot over to Twilight's house, find Spike, throw him out a window, jump up and down on top of him, and then throttle him.

These thoughts, however, I had done my best to push aside, and instead, was considering how I was ever going to fix things. As I considered this, I remembered about the rest of the Mane Six.

_What if they told the others?_

_Everypony in Ponyville would hate me._

_A newfound reputation of mine would be born._

I heard a knock on the door. I didn't want to answer it.

_Knock, knock, knock._

I still didn't answer it.

_Knock, knock, knock._

I gave up.

I trotted to the door slowly, and opened it. I was surprised to see the face I saw at the door. In fact, it was the last pony I would have suspected to show up at my door.

"We need to talk."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

She looked forlorn, and yet, deadly serious at the same time. I could barely tell who it was at first because of her rain coat, but then saw a small bit of her fur had leaked out, the light in my house causing it to glisten. The color was obviously a sign of one pony I knew.

Twilight Sparkle.

Who, at that point, was at my doorstep when I was 99.9999999999 percent sure no one would be showing up at my door that night.

"_Unless she was here to yell at me more."_

I determined than the chances that someone coming to my house at that moment was more like 50/50.

But she didn't seem in that mood. She just sat down on my couch, and motioned me to sit next to her. I sat down, and looked ahead of me.

"If you're here to yell at me, I won't blame you."  
"That's not why I'm here."  
"Then, why the heck would you want to see me now?"  
"Wait…"  
"Why would anyone want to see me now! I mean, with what I did, everypony probably thinks I'm a big fat jerk! How can you bring yourself so low?! You're wasting your time!"  
"You're doing exactly what you wanted not to do when you first came here."  
"What would that be?"  
"Being harsh," I slowed down, and relaxed my arched muscles. "You're practicially yelling at me, like trying to tell me what you did was excusable. And while I was here to tell you I don't put all my blame on you for what happened, and yet, you're explosion proves how selfish and stubborn you are." The words hurt.

But I knew I deserved them.

"You see, I came here for two reasons. One, to apologize. And two….. To let you know what I say to your request." _"She had come here for that?" _I pondered.

"Why the heck would you apologize?"

"Because, I was too harsh on you. I was barely hurt by what you did. The one who you should feel worse for is definitely Fluttershy, who clearly blames herself for what happened."

"I don't know, I think you were as harsh as you needed to be."  
"I'm trying to be sympathetic here."  
"I don't think I deserve even close to that much."  
"Please, I really am trying to be nice because even after this, I still think you're a good person at heart." Those words shocked me. I hadn't expected her to say that at all.

"You made a mistake, everypony makes mistakes. No pony is perfect."  
"Not too many ponies have made this big a mistake."  
"It doesn't matter how big or small. You may or may not believe this, but I once put a 'want it, need it" spell on the entire town."  
"Yeah, right, and pigs can fly."

"I actually could put a spell on pigs to make them do just that, but that's not the point. It embarrasses me to say, but I was so worried about not getting a Friendship letter to Princess Celestia by the end of the week, that I thought I could make a moral lesson by putting a 'want it, need it' spell on a plush doll. Fact is I was the one who learned a lesson that day." I chucked at the story. I never imagined something like that happening to Twilight. "See, everypony has flaws. Question is, do you let your flaws get in the way of life? Or do you move on? The choice is obvious."

I really thought about what she was saying at that point. It made me reconsider the way I'd been considering what to do to solve my problems.

"Of course, that's not to say this choice won't have consequences. Ponies are going to hear about this, and you'll have a rather negative reputation going for you." I hoof palmed. I had forgotten about that little detail. "But still, just think about it." She stood up, and started to leave. "And about the other thing," I stood up, expecting a rather harsh final word. But instead, she winked and said, "Pick me up at 9:00 sharp." She closed my door and left.

I did my happy dance right then.

Fluttershy stretched, yawning as she slowly got out of her…. Rarity's bed. She had never slept in such a fancy bed, or had such a peaceful sleep. She didn't know whether it was the sweet aroma that filled the air, or the sweet piano sonata Rarity had her record player play for her while she was going to bed. Either way, she was glad to have slept well that night. It had kept her mind off of last night's events.

"_Yes, last night," _No matter how much Rarity had tried to convince her to think otherwise, Fluttershy still felt that things could not be just shrugged off like she was suggesting. She felt that perhaps she needed to talk to Crusher again.

"_No, he deserves to get the cold shoulder after what he did." _A part of her said.

"_You've got the right idea. You know you're not one to hold a grudge."  
"Why can't you just shut up already! She's already let me take over before, and ya know what she got, she got a self-esteem she had never had before. 'Wasn't for her friends, she'd be mine now."_

"_Why can't you just calm yourself? You have all your rich fantasies to keep you coming?"  
"Fluttershy's conscience may reside away from either of us, but trust me, when things don't go well, she's mine to control."  
"Don't act like that. I'm fine with whatever she does, but turning into you again would make the whole town think of her as a monster."  
"No one would push her around again."  
"It's her own decision."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."_

Fluttershy had to bear with these discussions between two sides of herself. She had no idea whether she was suffering from a mental illness, or if she was the one creating her own barriers. But the sides were clear.

One side was her 'good' conscience. The pony she had always wanted to be. Kind, assertive, loving, all these things that Fluttershy had always wanted to emulate.

The other side was her 'bad' conscience. This side of her had been let out ever since she had went through sessions with Iron Will. Only worse. This side of her wanted her to do cruel, nasty, and on occasion, very immoral things.

And yet, while she knew inside this could become a problem, she was much too shy to see a psychiatrist. And….

If someone found out,

No one would look at her the same way again.

"_No, I can't have that; these are the only ponies who've ever considered me as friends. They would leave me if they saw me do that."_

"_But aren't they your friends?"_ She heard her good conscience say. _"They wouldn't betray you just like that."_

"_Maybe, but, I just can't. You can be friends with a pony one minute, and they stab your back the next."_

"Fluttershy, darling, breakfast is ready!" Rarity's interruption got her out of her thoughts for a second.

"Okay, I'm coming right down." She walked out of the doorway, glad to be rid of any sort of conscience that might come to stalk her. She sat down at the table across from Rarity, and took in the aroma of fresh pancakes with butter neatly placed on top. Next to that was a delicious cup of orange juice, filled up to exactly one cup.

"How did you sleep?"  
"I slept well, thank you. Your bed was very comfortable."  
"I'm glad you enjoyed it."  
"How was your sleep?"  
"It was fine, really, I've taken naps on my couch before."  
"Oh, okay, just wanted to make sure I didn't make you have too bad of a sleep."

"No really dear it was fine, you don't have to be so paranoid."

"Oh, okay." Fluttershy slowly ate her food, as he considered what to say to break an awkward silence. Then, she remembered something. "You doing anything special today? I mean, it is Hearts and Hooves day after all." Rarity looked up, surprised at the question.

"No, the only pony I ever plan to fall in love with is going to be somepony of royalty. Somepony who's charming, handsome, chivalrous, you know, that sort of thing."  
"Oh, I understand."

"That may seem rather harsh conditions, but somepony like me has to be sure they know what they're getting when they go into a relationship."

"I guess that makes sense."

_Knock, Knock, Knock._

"Don't worry yourself, Fluttershy, I'll get the door." She opened the door, and saw Crusher. "Aren't you here rather early in the morning?"  
"I was well, um, wondering if Fluttershy was here. She wasn't at her house, and I remembered, somepony, well, let's see, who it was, I don't remember, but anyways, somepony told me you were her best friend. Did she spend the night?"

"Well, erm," Fluttershy faced Rarity, and nodded. "Yes, she is here."  
"Could you maybe, uh, bring her to the door? There are a few things I want to say to her." Rarity turned back towards her.

"He wants to talk to you, dear." She walked up to the door, Rarity slowly stepping out of the way. To a degree, Fluttershy noticed he seemed a bit more happy than he did last night. Was it because he did what Rarity told her to do?

Or was it because of something else?

"Hi, Fluttershy? I just wanted to say…. I'm sorry, REALLY, REALLY, sorry for acting like I did yesterday. I acted pretty much like a total jerk to you, and I just…. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't want to forgive me, but…." Fluttershy walked up to him, and smiled.

"Of course I forgive you. I'm not one to hold a grudge. I suppose I should be apologizing to."  
"Don't say stuff like that! I was the one who messed things up!"

"But I shouldn't have acted so silly about the whole thing." She started to lean closer to him. Something inside of her was telling her to. She didn't feel like backing down.

"No. I was the one at fault. But, I am really glad you forgive me." She nodded at his answer, and her hoof wrapped around his neck. She noticed him start to feel uneasy, but he didn't quite back away. She rushed forward, and she met her lips with his. He looked like he was struggling for a second, but then slowly stopped. She smiled, as she backed away, and then leaned in again for another kiss.

"_This is just what I wanted. But…."  
"Is it?"_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I didn't know what the hell was wrong with me at that moment. I was planning to meet Twilight in half an hour.

And I was kissing Fluttershy.

Again, I asked myself;

"_What the hell?"_

Even as this was going through my head, I didn't dare pull away. I took a glance at Rarity for a second. She seemed shell shocked; not at all expecting us to go from me being on a guilt trip to smooching on her front porch.

But, WHAT THE HECK? I was supposed to be meeting Twilight; I had done a happy dance when I had heard she wanted to date me. I had even spent the whole night dreaming about what today would be like.

And yet, I was kissing Fluttershy.

When I had finally resolved things, I had gone and messed things up again. I wanted to pull away.

I really did.

But something in me told me I wanted to be with Fluttershy.

I _needed _to have Fluttershy in my life.

Anything against it would have to be discarded.

I had to shake off this thought, and yet, I still wanted to kiss Fluttershy again. She didn't have a problem with that idea either. I noticed Rarity seeming to look at an invisible watch, wondering when we'd be done. The full effect of my actions came upon me at that moment.

I pushed away from her.

"I…. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that; that was uncalled for, I…." She didn't seem to have a problem at all. She was completely unaware at that moment I was going to be dating Twilight later. Again, it seemed I had used her.

I had to try to stop this _now._

Before things were messed up again. "I… I can't do this." She looked up at me, with wide eyes.

"What, I don't understand, what do you mean?"

"I was going on a date with Twilight today, I don't know why I did this, but I am so sorry. I just can't do this. Things had been worked out between us yesterday."  
Too blunt.

FAR too blunt. "You'd be happy without me, I'm not somepony who could always be there for you."

"But you HAVE to be!" I never expected Fluttershy to talk that fiercely.

Ever. "What kind of stallion are you to come here, and do this to me, and yet now tell me you were doing this behind you're potential mare friend's back?!" She was so mad. I had NEVER seen this part of her before.

At least, not in my memory. "Why, Crusher? I had thought so highly of you. And you have to do this!"  
"I KNOW it was dumb. I'm sorry, it's just, goodbye." But then, before I could get away from her, it happened.

Fluttershy;

Sweet, innocent Fluttershy,

Turned around,

And kicked me into the dirt.

I slowly tried to lift myself out of the dirt, but I just couldn't get the strength to do it at that moment. If I had done something to make her do this, I knew I had messed up bad.

REALLY BAD.

I started to tear up, but she wasn't finished yet.

She stepped on my head, and slammed me into the ground. I just managed enough strength to notice Rarity run out and grab Fluttershy, slowly pushing her away from me.

"Darling, what on Earth are you doing?"  
"It's like you said, he deserved to get the cold shoulder. Why shouldn't he get physical punishment for this idiocy?!"  
"I have to admit, this was foolish of him to a degree I do not bother to speak. But Fluttershy, don't do this! This is not the kind of mare you are! It's not at all! The Fluttershy I know would never go to such lengths to get back at anypony."  
"Shut up, Rarity. I have to get him!"

"NO, you don't, darling. He'll have plenty of consequences for what he's done. Twilight will certainly see to that. But you need to calm down. CALM DOWN!"  
"NO!" She then kicked Rarity away, knocking her into one of her mirrors. The glass shattered, and she received a few cuts in the back of her skin. She struggled back up, and I saw her look at Fluttershy with pleading eyes.

"Please, darling, do not become what you've most hated." Flutttershy seemed to revert back right after she said that. She stumbled back and forth, and tears filled into her eyes. She ran back upstairs, sobbing along the way. Rarity, before running up to calm Fluttershy, turned towards me and scowled. "I hope you're happy now."

That was all she said before running upstairs.

At that moment, I felt like dirt. I felt like dirt to the point of not moving a step for a few minutes.

I almost felt like dying.

Fluttershy buried her face in a pillow, letting all of her tears come out. Both sides of her were yet again in an uproar.

"_Why are you crying, sister? After all, that Crusher dweeb got what he deserved."  
"Can't you see anything you fool? She loved that stallion. She had the perfect chance, and you ruined it!"  
"She USED to have the perfect chance. After he admitted that, he deserved what he got."  
"Just because he deserved it does not mean it was right or just. Now, she has no chance with him."  
"But look what's going to happen to him? He's probably gonna leave town, and you'll finally be able to move on, Fluttershy."  
"I can't believe you had her do this!"  
"He deserved it!"  
"I already answered that statement!"  
"He doesn't deserve a place in Ponyville!"  
"She could have handled it differently, but if it wasn't for you, she would never have done that." _The good side of her conscience turned her attention towards Fluttershy. _"It's alright dear. But now, you know what to do. See a psychiatrist, and figure out what your problems are. You shouldn't worry about Crusher until you get back to a stable condition."  
"Oh, THAT'S encouraging. I thought you were supposed to be her good side."_

"_I AM, you dimwit!"  
"It's MY job to name call!"  
"Don't act like such a nimrod!"  
"YOU'RE still doing it!"  
_"QUIET!" Both sides of her stopped talking, and ceased any words; at least, that she could hear.

It may have calmed down, but she had a feeling her good side was right. She needed to see a doctor, somepony to help with her condition. This was turning into worse of a problem than she ever thought before. But Crusher…..

Her tears came back all at once again.

"Fluttershy, dear,"

"Please, go away, don't you understand? I'm a monster!"  
"No, darling. You are not a monster. That wasn't you back there."  
"But it was a part of me, oh, Rarity, I don't want to say this, but….."  
"But what, darling?"  
"When Iron Will's seminars made me brutish, rude and mean, right?"  
"Yes,"  
"That me, it never fully left my mind. It's been bugging me all the time lately. And then my good conscience has been arguing with it, causing me to hear all of these voices in my head. I can't stand it anymore! And what happened to Crusher…. THAT WAS MY FAULT!" She started to sob again.

She noticed Rarity's expression. Her face was one filled with sadness. But she seemed to be thinking about something. Then, she spoke.

"So, you're good conscience is the one that's mostly in control of your body, but your bad conscience is like an enemy army, trying to break through your defenses."  
"Sort of," She then did her best, through her sobbing every now and then, to explain her theory about the voices that popped up in her head.

"So that's it. But why didn't you tell us, darling?"  
"My bad conscience was telling me not to. She said that if I did, you would abandon me. You would leave me because you would be too scared to even think about being with me."  
"Fluttershy, dear. I'm your friend, and so are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. We would never, EVER abandon you in your time of need. If you had told us sooner, we would have gotten you help. Whatever type we could think of." Fluttershy kept crying, but she seemed to be calming down. She was glad to know that her friends were always there for her.

"I'll leave you on your own if you want. Later today, we'll talk to the others about this. I promise, we'll find a way to help you." She then closed the door.

Fluttershy wrapped herself in her blanket, and let out a small smile. Maybe, things would be okay.

Just, maybe.

Twilight checked to make sure her mane was neat, and in order. She had never been on a date with a stallion before, so she wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

"Twilight, do you realize that's like, the tenth time you've checked your mane this morning?"  
"I know Spike, but I don't want to mess things up on our first date."  
"I still think you were a bit too easy on him. Besides, do you even have a crush on him?"  
"I…. honestly don't know yet. I thought that on the date today, I may figure out the answer to that question."  
"Well, you're probably going to find out the answer soon. He should be coming any minute now."  
"Oh, I'm not sure if I want to do this."  
"You HAVE to do this now, Twilight, you did set everything up."  
"I suppose you're right, Spike. And yet, I'm still worried." She then got up from her chair, and turned to face Spike. Her purple eyes sparkled with a long purple gown that stretched about 2 inches across the floor. It was brilliantly covered with starts at the ends.

"Crusher's the one who should be worried, Twilight. Because…. Wow, you look gorgeous in that Twilight!" She giggled.

"Thanks Spike. I suppose you're probably right. I shouldn't be so worried."  
"That's right, you shouldn't be." She giggled, and walked next to the door. Three minutes back, and the clock read 9:02 AM.

"Do you think he should be here by now?"  
"Now Twilight, from what I know about Crusher, he looks like the kind of guy who'd be late for anything." Just then, she heard a knock on the door and she answered it.

Sure enough, it was Crusher.

Dressed in the suit Rarity had given him at his Welcome to Ponyville.

However, Twilight noticed he seemed off, like he was hiding something.

But she couldn't figure out what.

"Ready to go?" He asked. She noticed the anxiousness in his voice. "Wow, you look really beautiful to."  
"Thanks, you look dashing as well, Prince Charming." She heard him giggle in a way that sounded like the stallion she knew. He took her hoof, and walked out the door. "See you later Spike." She called.  
"Bye Twilight." She heard him say as he closed the door.

But behind the door, Spike took a cupcake from the table, and started thoughtfully munching on it. He still was wondering why Crusher acted the way he did.

"I know he's hiding something, but, what exactly?"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

I was conflicted.

Half of me felt nervous, guilty, and self-centered about not telling Twilight about what happened earlier that same day.

The other half was so desperate to be with Twilight, that he didn't care about the circumstances.

A .01 % of me wanted to tell Twilight the truth, and still be with her.

"_Like that would ever happen." _I said to myself.

But either way, I did my best not to show how nervous I was about this. The date was only for an hour, and yet, if Rarity or Fluttershy saw what was going on, I would definitely be in trouble. I had a feeling this would turn out to be my first and last date I would ever have. Still, I tried to keep these worries all in my head, and not let Twilight know what was going on.

I just hoped she couldn't read minds.

We walked for a little while 'til we got to the restaurant. It read in fancy letters at the top, "Dinner for Two", it looked and sounded fancy, but it was about in between being that, and a fast food restaurant. I was worried about what Twilight would say, but she just let out a small smile. I sighed in relief. I really did not have much cash to burn.

I tried not to look too distant, but I started to remember about the story I was supposed to be publishing soon. Ever since the recent drama that had been happening in my life, I hadn't gotten to work on any of it. I shrugged this off, and turned towards Twilight. We sat down at the table, and I straightened up, doing my best not to let on I was staring out how beautiful she looked. A waiter came up.

"Sir, Madam, may I take your order?"  
I had forgotten about an order. I easily deduced that would not be good to let her know I did that, so I was prepared to say I'd order whatever she did.

"Yes, I'll have a grass and daisy sandwich. With a glass of orange juice, please."  
"Uh, yes. I'll have that to. Just, minus the orange juice." I liked most fruit, but ever since I was a foal, I had HATED orange juice with a passion.

"Do you want something else to drink?"

"Uh….. Milk?"

"Oui, oui, I will get them. Your order should be ready in 5 minutes." He then trotted off. We were left on the table alone. I hadn't noticed the waiter had put a vase with three roses on the center of the table. The sweet fragrance spread all around our table. I breathed it in, and then let out a deep sigh.

"That's, a, really nice fragrance."  
"Yes, roses always smell nice. But I can't help but notice that the roses seem to be artificially scented. It doesn't smell natural."

"Oh," I sniffed for a second. "I see what you mean." We sat, not really saying anything for a few seconds. Then, she spoke up.

"you seemed a bit nervous when you first came over. Are you alright?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah, that, well, it's just, this is my first date. And, I feel kinda nervous."

"Don't be. You can talk to me just like you talk to anyone else."  
"It's not that easy. I've never been good at talking to anyone."  
"What about Fluttershy? You seemed to talk to her a lot."  
"Well, yeah, but I guess we kinda had a mutual feeling about that. If you know what I mean."

"You mean you felt some kind of a connection."  
"Yeah, not like I had a crush on her, but I just felt it was easy to tell her about things."

"Mmmhmm, so, how is she anyways?"

"She's fine."  
"She was kind of sad yesterday. Did you go see her?"  
"Yes, actually, I found her earlier in this morning and apologized this morning."  
"Did she forgive you?"  
"Yes."  
"Well, that's a relief. Things may get back to normal now."  
_"If only I could say the same."_

"See?"

"Huh?" I was confused with what she was getting at.

"We were just talking to each other."  
"Oh, we were? Oh… Yeah, we were!" She giggled.  
"See, even for you, talking comes naturally. You just can't worry about it all the time; otherwise you'll always be a nervous wreck."  
"Ya know, you're right. I should try to be more calm."  
"Exactly." The waiter came up, and gave us our food. Twilight licked her lips, and sipped at her orange juice. I took a big bite of my sandwich. My bite was messy, and I almost completely forgot my manners when I said,

"So, how was Spike before I came?" I almost sprayed crumbs on her dress, but barely missed. I blushed, and covered my mouth. I noticed her laughing.  
"Pardon me, it was just funny. I don't blame you. I slip up like that sometimes to. But, to answer your question, Spike's doing fine. He was actually very content to stay and take care of the library."  
"That's cool." I turned left, and right. Then, I continued. "Did you tell anypony about what happened yesterday?"

"No," She whispered. "I was angry, but I didn't feel like spreading a bad reputation for you."  
"I thank you for that. I did deserve that much, though."

"We went over this already, Crusher. Trust me, I've moved on."  
"Well, again, I'm very grateful you did." I noticed we were getting a little closer. She smiled, and I smiled back.

"You okay?"

"Huh, oh, yeah, 'course, I'm just, uh,"  
"I'm surprised you seem so adamant all of a sudden."  
"I don't, well, I, if you…"  
"If you're up for it, we can make this work." She leaned in closer to me. She smirked. "If you're up for it." I couldn't help smiling back.

"I'll try." Our lips collided as we leaned over the table. We very well could have knocked over something, but at that moment, I wasn't thinking about anything except what was happening here and now. At that moment, I felt like everything was right in the world.

I never wanted this moment to end.

Fluttershy sat down on her chair, glancing at her hooves every so often. She had felt glad. When Rarity told her friends about it, they all had come to support her. She was now in the waiting room right next to where she'd be meeting her psychiatrist about her problems. The only one who hadn't been able to come was Twilight, who, at least from what Rarity said, was on a date with Twilight. She found that hard to believe.

"_Twilight didn't know about what happened this morning. I guess it makes sense he didn't tell her. He must want her to be his badly."_ She sighed as she slowly started pacing across the room. The thought of seeing a psychiatrist scared her to no end. She had heard about what someponies thought of shrinks. Although her friends had tried to reassure her it was for the best, she still wasn't convincing. "I…. I just don't know, girls. What if he's, I don't know, crazy?"

"They are psychiatrists, Fluttershy. They help people who are crazy."  
"RAINBOW DASH!"

"Uh, sorry, eh heh."

"It will be fine, darling. I have heard very good things about this particular psychiatrist you're seeing. He's always sure to do his best to help the patient."  
"And, if you need anything at all, we'll be right here in the waiting room." Applejack persisted.  
"Yup, we'll be here at your beck and call!" Pinkie Pie commented. Fluttershy was glad to see they were so supportive, but she was not exactly enthused by the thought. Rarity hadn't said anything about if the psychiatrist was calm and relatable, or fierce and antagonistic. Either way, she still didn't like the idea of seeing a psychiatrist. Just then, they heard the door open. A nurse came out.

"Miss, Fluttershy?"  
"Yes?" She responded.

"You're appointment is ready, you may come in now." She slowly, but surely walked through the door. The lights were mostly dark except for a lamp that shone on a couch next to a stool which had a vase with flowers on top of it. She could barely get out the silhouette of a pony sitting on the opposite side of the room. The door was closed behind her, and she squealed in terror.

"Do not be afraid, little one." The tone was slimy, yet reassuring. Scary, yet calming. She could not match this kind of voice to anyone she had seen before. "Sit down on the couch, and we will deal with your problem." She laid down on the couch, and did her best to explain everything she remembered about her 'consciences' and what they had made her do that morning. "Ah, yes, I see. This has become a most interesting prospect."

"Interesting?"  
"Yes, these consciences did not show up 'til you attended Iron Will's seminars, am I correct?"

"That's right,"  
"And you've struggled with certain moral dilemmas ever since, correct?"

"Yes, but up 'til now, I hadn't listened to my bad side."  
"I see. The strain of staying in between these two sides of you is causing you to be stressed, and get easily excited by little things. Your altercation with Crusher was just enough to let the bad side out of you."  
"But what should I do?"  
"There is only one way for you to get out of this. You will have to contact your consciences, and make the choice yourself?"

"Hm?"  
"In other words, you need to talk to your 'consciences', and choose which one you are going to let take control of your body."  
"You mean, another being will in control of me?"  
"No, no, no, I was being metaphorical. If you side with your good conscience, you will be more outgoing, and you will no longer have to worry about the strain of hearing them argue. The same will be true if you side with your bad side, but I doubt you really want to do that, do you?"  
"No,"  
"Then it's simple. Do this, and you will have no more troubles. None whatsoever." She couldn't help but noticed he seemed to grin right after he said that.

"Well, thank you, Doctor. I'll definitely try what you said."  
"You're most welcome, Fluttershy; I am sure you will now have troubles no longer." Fluttershy nodded, and left the room.

The stallion slowly walked over to the light switch, and turned it on. He walked over to a door that said "employees only." He opened the door, and saw three other stallions sitting in an incomplete square. He finished it with the fourth seat on the lower right corner.  
"I trust you were able to help the mare with her problem, correct?"  
"Yes, I have almost completely gained the trust of Ponyville. I seemed shady to them at first, but they have seemed to warm up to me."

"That isssss a relief." A snaky voice joined in.

"Yes," another voice growled. "Soon, the pieces will be in place."  
"Yes, and our final phase will be able to begin."


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, so if any of my readers were concerned about the way last chapter turned out, being too happy and all, it's not going to be like that in these future chapters. Take last chapter as sort of a relief from all the angst that was going on. But enough of me talking. Let's get to the story.**

**Chapter 11**

I was, at this point, walking back to my house after being on a date with Twilight for four hours. Although we had had a lot of fun in a variety of places, I was only thinking about that kiss.

Her lips had felt so smooth.

I felt like mine were not pure enough to touch ones as angelic as hers.

The writer in me was getting in my head as it tended to when I was getting very exaggerative.

I opened the door, and walked up to my table. I was in a better mood then I had been in a while, so I continued to write my story. I was fairly certain that Twilight would be concerned about the fact she wasn't gaining a profit from our deal if I continued to be writing without having a work ready for her. So, I tried to get into one of my grooves when I would have all my set pieces ready, and I would be able to turn the story into high gear. I carefully penned the words that all connected to make a story. The fact that this was true had been something I had been amazed by ever since I started writing. Every word served a purpose. If one was missing, the story became incomplete, or it felt like there was something missing from the work. That is how nerdy I could get when looking at books.

I heard a knock at the door. I trotted over, and reopened my door.

There was a stallion. He was a little taller than me, and had light red fur with a sky blue colored mane. He had a scar on his right eye, and his face looked mean. He said,

"Good afternoon, sir." His tone was diplomatic. It was slimy, and yet, something about it was calming.

"Um, do I know you?"  
"No, I have heard things about you, Crusher Twindler is it?"  
"How did you know my name?"  
"Oh, I hear a lot of things. My most recent patient told me about you. Told me about how you were caught kissing her, and how you had already agreed to date Twilight Sparkle." I instantly gulped. I felt sweat trickle down my mane and stain my fur coat.  
"Fluttershy was seeing you?"  
"Yes, now you're memories being refreshed. If you're wondering, I am a psychiatrist. She was seeing me about something. Although she'd prefer it if I didn't tell you exactly what was wrong."  
"Whatever you're here for, I'd suggest you leave."

"No, no, you misjudge me. There is a reason I'm here. Please, I want you to walk with me. There is no reason to run. The whole town respects me as a psychiatrist. Trust me; there is _nothing _to worry about while you're with me." I didn't trust this guy as far as I could throw him. His voice almost had some sort of a hypnotic flair to it. I started to feel like I had to follow him. I nodded, and slowly started to follow him. He walked down the streets, occasionally greeting the ponies who waved to him. I was not sure where he was bringing me, or even why he was seeing me. But either way, I knew he was up to something suspicious.

He stopped at a lake, and sat down. Although it was still sunny, I couldn't help but notice he started to look even creepier than before. He grinned.  
"You're still wondering why I'm telling these things to you, aren't you?"  
"Well, yeah."  
"That's understandable. I might as well tell you why I am concerned about what is going on between you and her." He let out a sigh. "Fluttershy…."  
"Yes?"  
"Fluttershy is my daughter."

Twilight walked through the door with a smile on her face. The date had gone very well, and they had already decided to go out again next week. Spike noticed her come through the door, and waved.  
"So, how did it go?"  
"It went very well. You were right, there really was nothing to worry about."  
"See, now you know there's nothing to worry about if you ever plan to go out with this guy again." He blinked twice, and then continued. "Are you planning to go out with this guy again?"

Twilight giggled, and walked upstairs. "Spike, record that next week at 2:00 PM I'm going out with Crusher again."  
"Well, that was certainly a unique way to answer my question." He took out a scroll, and wrote it down in the empty spot. "You had planned to have some sort of date ahead of time, hadn't you?"  
"Yes, I made sure an empty space was left there while you were asleep last night."  
"Ah, I see." Spike put the scroll back, and he turned back to face her. "Did he say why he was acting all nervous earlier?"  
"He said it was because this was his first date and he had never been on one before. But I really don't know for sure if he's still not hiding something."  
"Did he warm up after that?"  
"He started to get less uptight, and have fun, but, I still wish he'd let me know what was up."  
"Maybe he has some sort of personal dilemma. Or, he's still recovering from what happened yesterday."  
"Good point, but…. Oh well. I really shouldn't be worrying about it. Besides, Rarity wanted me to meet her at her boutique in a few minutes. I've got better things to think about. Like what kind of dress she decided to make for me."  
"Why she make a dress for you?"  
"She had some extra time, and dress making is not only her passion, it's also a pastime for her."  
"That makes sense I suppose."  
"Well, I guess I better get going. Do you want to come along, Spike?"  
"Uh, sure; it's not like I've got anything better to do." So, Twilight walked down the road towards Rarity's boutique with Spike riding on her back. She would hear the occasional greeting on the way, and finally reached the boutique. She knocked on the door, and Rarity opened it. She glanced to the side and noticed that with the exception of Fluttershy, the rest of the mane six were standing in the middle of the boutique.

"I'm glad you came, Twilight. There is much we need to talk about." Twilight wondered what this could be, but merely nodded and walked over to the others. Applejack continued Rarity's talk.

"You see, sugar cube, while you were gone on your little date thing, Fluttershy had gone to see a psychiatrist." Twilight's eyes immediately widened. Fluttershy had needed to see a psychiatrist? Sweet, kind, honest Fluttershy needed psychiatric help?

"But, why?"  
"Well, it seems she has some type of schizophrenia. But it comes to her in an odd form." Rainbow Dash said.

"And that's no fun for anypony, especially poor Fluttershy." Pinkie confirmed. The four then explained what exactly Fluttershy had been experiencing ever since Iron Will's seminars, and how she had neglected to tell them in fear of being rejected. They avoided against telling her about what happened with Crusher, believing if he was honest, he may tell her eventually.

"Oh, wow. I had no idea. How is she now?"

"The shrink said that she decided to go home. He said she left so fast so that she'd be able to concentrate on siding with one of her two 'consciences' without any distractions." Rainbow Dash said.  
"That's sound advice, but someone as timid as Fluttershy might have a hard time confronting her other personalities by herself."  
"I was thinking the same thing, Twilight. But I'm certainly no professional, and Fluttershy may actually be back to her regular self tomorrow."

"I just can't believe how much the strain of keeping her two others in check must have been for her."  
"It's something you just can't know until you experience it for yourself."  
"I just hope everything all turns out well in the end." Twilight sighed.

Fluttershy sat up in her bed, facing a mirror that was on the other side. She closed her eyes, trying to reach deep in her thoughts. After struggling for a few seconds, she had finally contacted them. All the way she was walking home, she had been concerned about having to do this. With her being as timid as she was, she knew it would be difficult for her to make this choice. But the psychiatrist said this was the easiest, and the least stressful way to deal with her situation.

"_Well, well, well, I'm surprised you actually came to talk to us. Maybe, you've actually grown a backbone."  
"Be quiet! Now, Fluttershy, is there something you wanted to ask of us? Or, preferably just me?"_

"_Blah, blah, blah, don't listen to that loser."  
"Actually, I've come to a decision." _Both sides of her stared at her intently. Almost as if they were peering into her soul. _"Here and now, at least one of you, will be destroyed."_


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I almost gasped, but just barely held it in. This weirdo was Fluttershy's father? Sweet, sweet, Fluttershy's father? There was no way I could accept that as the truth. I tried to clarify. "I'm sorry? What did you say?"  
"I said, I am Fluttershy's father."  
"But how can that be true? She told me a lot of things, but I never heard a speck about her father!"

"She never knew about me." I took a step back, and relaxed my tense muscles.

"What do you mean?"  
"Fluttershy never knew about me. She was raised by her mother, but not by me."  
"How did that happen,"  
"You see, a long time ago, I was a college student in Canterlot. I met Fluttershy's mother a few weeks after I started the semester. She was indeed a beautiful sight. She took a liking to me as well. Soon after, we started dating. One night, I had gone out to see a Wonderbolts race when I met a few stray punks who I had seen at college. After the game, I foolishly decided to drink with them. Not being used to the harsh tasting liquid, I easily became drunk.

"Soon after that, I came back to see Fluttershy's mother again. That night, we conceived Fluttershy." I let out a grimace. Rather ironic for someone like Fluttershy to have been conceived in such a manner. "She had no idea she was pregnant until two months later. When she found out, she immediately contacted me in hopes I would tell her what she should do. I told her I didn't care anymore. After having convinced her things would be better without me, I completely forgot about her and the child she was about to have. After getting my degree in psychology at college, I returned to my partner in hopes she would let me back in again. But she said she had no interest. I had done my deed, and there was no way I would repair the broken trust we had. I did, however, get a glimpse of my daughter. She had taken pretty much everything, including her good looks, from her mother. The only difference was her eyes. She takes those blue dazzling eyes from me. The only sign of her father's bloodline. Of course, Fluttershy's mother did not want her to know about that. She never told her the full truth, telling her I was dead. However, this was partially true in a sense, for I am no longer the stallion that used to date Fluttershy's mother. In my somewhat depressed state, I moved to Ponyville so I would be away from my family connections, and started a new life here as a psychiatrist." He looked down at the water, almost starting to look guilty. He then turned back to me. "And even after all these years, I care deeply for my young daughter. And the reason I have confronted you here and now is to give you a warning." He then looked at me with angry eyes that would terrify the living daylights out of anypony. "If I ever find you with my daughter again, I swear I will rip your heart out of that lump of flesh you call a body. Do I make myself clear?" I could tell he wasn't kidding. He was keeping himself calm, and yet I was one hundred percent sure he would definitely do that to me if he felt it was necessary. I let out a nod. "Good, I shall leave you." He started to walk off, but then turned back towards me. "If it is any consolation to you, I would have taken care of you much sooner. But I was feeling generous. And I may seem harsh, but if there was anything I could wish, it would be to bring things back to the way they were." He then ran off.

I was trying to absorb this all in.

I still wasn't sure why he wanted me to know about his life story.

Was it some type of warning to make sure I never try what he did?  
Or was he just using it as leverage to want to rip my heart out?  
I couldn't really be sure, and I decided the best thing for me to do was walk back home.

I retraced my steps, and came across the door that stood between me, and my humble establishment. I was about to open the door, when I heard a breath behind me. I turned around to see Twilight. She looked concerned. "I have something to tell you." I stood still for a few seconds, but then just compliantly opened the door, and we both sat down on my rather dusty couch. "Fluttershy seems to have a type of schizophrenia." I had already been told this, but I didn't think Fluttershy's father would want me to let other ponies know about him visiting me. I did my best to look shocked.  
"But, how is that possible? She has never been in such a state before."

"A while ago, after hearing a line of seminars from a Minotaur named Iron Will, she took finding new assertiveness too far. Soon after, she discovered the incident had taken its toll on her sanity, and her mind was split between two personalities that resemble consciences. She neglected to tell any of us, worried she might lose her friends. After seeking help from a psychiatrist, she's gone home seeking to rid herself of them once and for all." I was unaware of the last bit of information, and I looked down at the ground.

"Poor Fluttershy, I hope she'll be okay."  
"Her psychiatrist's advice may be sound, but could very well be dangerous. She may not have the will to tell one of them, or maybe both of them, to leave her forever."

"I'm worried about that to." I turned towards her. Even in her sad state, she looked as beautiful as ever. After a moment or two, her face started to fill with tears. She threw her body against mine, and started crying.

"I just, can't think about what could happen! I just wish I could help her! Why couldn't I help…?" I felt her tears rush down my fur. I rubbed my hoof against her back.

"It's all going to be fine, Twilight. Fluttershy may be shy, but she's always had her assertiveness to help her in the end."  
"But what if they are both against her? What will she do if she has nothing to support her?"  
"Those parts of her are artificial. She created them, and she can destroy them if she can gather enough courage to do it. But I want to let you know something." I then turned my face towards her. "I am just as scared. But in the end, she is the only one who can take care of this problem." Twilight's face started to relax, tears still streaming from her eyes. She looked at me, and we shared another passionate kiss. She moved back from me, still very close to my body.

"Thanks Crusher. You're optimism is shocking."  
"What can I say, I hate depressing works of fiction." She then giggled, and got up from the couch.

"You're probably right. I'm just feeling upset that I can't do anything to help her."  
"I feel that way too, but don't worry. As long as she remembers her friends, she'll be fine." She smiled before slowly walking out the door. I turned towards my writing table. If only I was really so certain everything was going to turn out fine.

"_WHAT?"  
"You are going to destroy one of us?"  
"Yes, the stess from having you both in me has grown too tiresome."  
"Well, if you really want to go through with this, then I should be the one you keep."  
"No, NO, he is a liar and a cheat. I should be the one to stay."  
"No, me. I actually help her. You do nothing but wear a halo over your stinkin' head all day!"  
"That is not true!"  
"QUIET!" _Silence.

For a few seconds at least.

"_Both of you have blown your cover with such an obvious argument. Neither of you are acting selfless. That leaves at least one of you are already going to be done for."  
"Please dear, don't take this the wrong way, I am always here for you."  
"Where were you at Iron Will's seminars? Where were you when I knocked Crusher in the dirt? Where were you when I failed to tell my friends about what was going on? Neither of you deserve to have a place in my mind!"  
"NO!"  
"Let me take a swing at it. Look, Fluttershy, without me, you have no gut. No courage, no nothing. You let everyone push you around, and you can't stand up for yourself. I'll give you the power to make sure no one gets away with hurting you again."  
"But with me, you can have assertiveness. Not in a brash or rude way, but you can still be assertive. Without me, the kindness in your heart will disappear."  
"But I was already kind without you! And I already learned basic assertiveness steps without you! The kindess I have comes from my heart. Neither of you deserve a place there, because neither of you have a purpose in there!"  
"But we come from your heart!"  
"No you don't, you come from the insecurity and guilt I created in myself! Face it, I created you and I have to power to destroy you!" _In her mind, a black hole starts to form over the personalities. They grasp on imaginary pieces of her mind. She causes them to vanish, and they continue to fall towards it.

"_You're making a big mistake!"  
"You can't do this to us!"  
"I have no choice. I have my friends; they are the most important ponies in my life. THEY are always there for me. Unlike you two selfish brats!" _There cries of "NOOOOOO!" echo through her head until they vanish completely. She opens her eyes to see the sky. To her, it looks even more beautiful than before. She starts to cry tears of joy.

"_Finally, the nightmare is over!"_

The psychiatrist walks slowly out of the bushes with his partner.

"Thisssss plan of yourssss better work out. We have all worked hard to make sssure it got this far!"  
"Trust me; the Mane Six are all in my debt now. Soon, I will be able to start my campaign. Ponyville will be mine, and the Mane Six will all be supporting me, not knowing about who I am under my kind mask!"  
"Yessss, they will get what'ssss coming to them for sssssure! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

I forced my eyes open. It was 5:30 AM, and I had told myself the previous night that I was going to work on the story I had been writing. I wanted time to congratulate Fluttershy on getting through her predicament at 8:00 AM. But my body did not agree with waking up that early in the morning just to work on a story.

I didn't feel like showing up to Fluttershy's house that day. I didn't feel like showing up to Fluttershy's house any day after how I had made her feel. I felt the only thing I would feel is guilty, and it wouldn't be good to remind her of bad memories like what I did to her.

But after getting chewed up by Rarity and Applejack last night shortly after hearing the good news,

I suddenly felt differently.

I took my new optimistic opinion as something I had been forced to get into. Rarity and Applejack had insisted I go over and apologize for what happened. Something I had neglected to do. I had already felt guilty, but to make sure I went through with it, they said they would tell Twilight the WHOLE story if I refused.

I couldn't let that happen.

Not in a million years.

So, I agreed to do it, and spent a large portion of the evening considering how I would do things. What exactly I'd say to her, how I would articulate my words, even at one point trying to figure out how she would respond to seeing me again. However, I eventually decided that I could not be sure about how she would react to seeing me again, so in haste, I decided to adjust my tactics depending on her mood.

The moment I had had, encouraging Twilight about how Fluttershy would turn out, I wasn't nearly as sure at that moment about how she would turn out in the end as it seemed I was. And yet, my assumption was true.

And after hearing about what happened, Twilight had become even more grateful.

If it wasn't for that one thing I didn't tell Twilight, my life would be going quite smoothly right now. I finally convinced myself to shimmy out of bed, and sat down at the table. I began to continue my story. Although I was aware how certain aspects of the story were definitely rather cliché, I felt my characters had enough depth to keep any reader interested, and my descriptions of characters, and settings were lush enough to draw whoever would be reading my story into another world. It was one of the few things in my life I could be confident in. I really didn't have much confidence in myself otherwise.

After having written several pages of my final draft, I turned around to find out it was already 7:50 AM. My mind was so full of thoughts and worries that I had spaced out several times while writing. I frantically dashed out of my chair, and set up a breakfast dish I could give her. In one way to show how sorry I was for what happened, and in another, to show my happiness for how things had turned out for her.

When I had finally conceived the dish, I walked out the door, and trotted down the road to Fluttershy's house. The streets felt awfully empty that day, but I couldn't decipher why. My mind lost interest in this rather quickly, however, and I ran even faster towards her home. When I reached my location, I stared in awe at the various woodland creatures frolicking about. While I had seen her house before, I had not taken in the beauty of her home. Both the flora and the fauna were gorgeous. I realized I still had a mission to complete, and knocked on her door.

"Coming," I heard through the door, a voice that I could recognize from anywhere as Fluttershy's. She opened the door, and she gasped. I knew she would be surprised to see me, but I had forgotten how truly shocking it would be for her. I hadn't even tried to apologize for what happened until then. I awkwardly passed her the gift basket.

"Hi, um, I came here to say congratulations for getting out of your predicament. And well, here's a gift basket, I hope you enjoy the food, I've never been much of a cook myself. Well, I….." _"Spit it out," _I said to myself. "I want to say how sorry I am for what I did to you." I let my head droop down. It wasn't melodramatic; I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders in that moment. "It was stupid and wrong for me to use you like that." I knew I wasn't using the right words, but I felt it was too late for me to stop now. "And I would be fine if you decided not to forgive me, I just wanted to let you know how sorry I really am." After I finished, I looked up to see her face. I couldn't read what she was thinking at that moment. It's like her face had frozen into the surprise of seeing me, and she didn't register my apology. I slowly noticed her lift my head up. _"Oh no," _I thought. _"She's going to kiss me again."_

But she didn't.

Not at all.

She lifted my head towards hers, and wrapped me in a warm embrace. I thought a felt a tear fall down my back as she said,

"I forgive you, I do. I could never hold a gripe against anyone, especially you." She was confessing her love to me, and yet I knew things couldn't work out with me now being hooked up with Twilight. She grasped me even harder before retracting back to her previous position. She smiled. "I know you chose Twilight, but, I just had to let you know how I really felt. It's…. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't." I hated having to hear such a thing. I wish there was a way I could make them both happy, but I had to suffer for my actions. For stringing them along, I would have to make one of them unhappy. And I had made my choice without even thinking about it. All I said at that moment was,

"Thank you, Fluttershy. Thank you."  
Twilight rushed through the streets, Spike yawning while he grasped the back of her fur with his other hand. She was not normally in a hurry at this hour, but she saw a poster for an election campaign that was taking place in Ponyville. The psychiatrist that Fluttershy had seen was running for mayor against the current mayor. "Remind me again why this is so important?" Spike said.

"This isn't just somepony speaking out against the mayor for the way she's running things, Spike. This is somepony trying to take over her position."

"Couldn't we wait 'til later to investigate this?"

"But this is very important, Spike. The mayor is in charge of all sorts of thing. Only the most dependable of ponies should be allowed to enter that position." When she reached the town square, she noticed that same psychiatrist speaking to almost all of Ponyville at that moment. He had a smile on his face, looking a lot friendlier then when he had first moved in. _"Campaign smile. A typical tactic for ponies running for an elective office," _She said to herself.

"Now, now, before this gets out of hand. I want you all to understand something. I hold no gripe against the current mayor. I think she is a wonderful pony. And yet, she has not managed things to the maximum they could be. Many ponies have to sign into unemployment offices because there are no other jobs. And the ones that don't have to move to another town in Equestria; but now you do not have to worry. When I am in office, I will be sure that everypony will have jobs." A round of applause followed this. At this moment, Twilight felt a conflict rise in her. She owed the psychiatrist for having helped Fluttershy. While she had already thanked him, she told him herself that she was going to find a more substantial way to thank him. While this would be the perfect chance, she had always been good friends with the current mayor. It would seem like betrayal to not go with her. And it wasn't like she was just one pony in this election either. Equestria regarded her and the rest of the Mane Six as heroes at a celebrity status. Her vote could be a game changer in which way the citizens of Ponyville would decide to lean towards. She noticed the Mayor of Ponyville on the other side of the podium, waiting for her chance to speak. After a few seconds, the psychiatrist finished his speech, even waving to the crowd as he jumped off the podium. The Mayor then took her stance, and took a deep breath as she gazed into the crowd. Hearing her speech would only make her more conflicted. Twilight decided to return to her home to think things over.

"Okay, now I can see why you would feel so conflicted over this."  
"Fluttershy's psychiatrist sounds so sincere in what he's saying. And besides that, I owe him for what he did to help Fluttershy. And yet, I've known the Mayor of Ponyville for quite some time now. It would almost be like betrayal to not support her now."  
"I see. Either fulfilling a debt, or possibly losing a friend. And yet, in your Friendship letters you talk about how important the magic of friendship is. So, shouldn't the choice be obvious to you."  
"It should," Twilight replied as she opened the door to her home, and sat down on the floor.

"But, it just,"

"isn't."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

I walked down the path towards my home. After we had let go of each other's arms, I told her I had some things to do back home. Which was indeed true, but even though she had forgiven me, I knew things would never be the same between us.

Never again.

I let that sink in a moment before I walked through my door. I sat down at my table, and started to work on my story. Nearly ready to show Twilight, and yet I keep telling myself I could make it better.

Why, I honestly don't know.

But either way, I made an oath to myself that I would finish it today.

I continued to put in the words of my final draft, making sure every single splotch of ink was precise, and neat. I wanted to impress Twilight with my writing, and I knew to do that, I would need to make sure this was incredibly high quality. With somepony as smart as her, I knew she would expect nothing less.

I heard my mailbox open and close, and also for the first time noticed some sort of commotion going on in town square. I first decided to check my mail. I opened the box, and muttered to myself, "Bill, bill, letter from my parents, bill," I gasped when I realized that I had just tossed a letter to my parents along on the same importance as the bills I had to pay. I picked it up off the ground, and carried the rest of the mail along with it. I opened the letter after sitting myself back on the table, and read,

_Dear Crusher,_

_It has been a long time since we've seen you. I am sorry if we have not been writing more often, but since the weekend is approaching, we thought we could come by and visit. We have heard very good things about Ponyville, and it could very well be a relief from the busy streets of Manehatten. Please send us a letter back if for some reason it would be inconvenient for us to come on that day, or if you want to reschedule._

_With Love,_

_Your mom and dad_

I couldn't help but grin at the way they phrased the signature. They wrote it as if they had step children.

I was happy they were coming. I had started to feel somewhat lonely without them. I had missed the way Dad would seem to demean me in good fun, and the way he would put off something bad that would happen with a sarcastic comment. He wasn't normally snarky, but it was basically his way of saying, "I'm in a bad mood, leave me alone." Mom's supportiveness and encouragement was something I easily grew attached to as a kid, but I could imagine her dying of disgust as soon as she stepped into my home. While she would affectionately name it a "trash bin" later on, she would insist I fix it up as soon as possible. I should have started cleaning right there and then, but my mind started to dwell on other things. For example, the commotion from outside that was still ringing in my ears. I trotted outside to check town square, and saw a crowd of ponies eagerly looking up at a podium. I couldn't get sight of who was up there, but I soon discovered my answer by looking at a poster that hung on the wall of a nearby house.

The picture was of Fluttershy's psychiatrist.

I did not recognize the name "Herodius", but his appearance was unquestionably the same stallion who had warned me not to go after Fluttershy. I had no idea why he would be running for mayor, but I knew one thing. He certainly had reasons to think he had a strong chance at winning. I certainly had little to no knowledge of politics, but I started to think it would be surprising if the Mane Six didn't support the current mayor. I considered telling Fluttershy about this, but figured she would figure it out on her own. As I walked back inside, I thought about the fact that stallion was her father. What would she do if she knew that? From what "Herodius", had said to me, she had been told by her mother he was a bad stallion. Fluttershy may have a forgiving heart, but the question is, will Herodius actually come to terms with her?  
I didn't have the answer to that question, so I consented to finish my final draft during the afternoon.

Twilight paced back and forth in her home. She didn't know who to endorse; or if she shouldn't endorse at all and remain neutral in this election. She had always hated having to choose sides between two ponies she both respected for different reasons. "Oh, I just don't know what to do, Spike!"  
"For one thing, stop confiding in me. I am a dragon with more questions than answers. And for another thing, you should stop worrying about this! You should go with your first instinct. If the mayor was really your friend, she wouldn't care who you voted for. And the psychiatrist dude, he barely knows you. If he's really a good friend, he'd be fine as well."

"I suppose, Spike. I wonder how the others are taking this."  
"They've probably done the smart thing and chosen one side or the other."  
"But don't you think I'm smart?"  
"Well, of course I do Twilight, but…."  
"You're saying I'm not doing the smart thing here?"  
"Well, not necessarily, but…."  
"You've been lying to me about how you think I'm smart?!"  
"STOP IT TWILIGHT!" Spike yelled so loud, his voice could have been heard from the other side of Equestria. He took a deep breath. "I know you're smart, Twilight, but even the brainiest of ponies can worry about things that really don't matter that much. They escalate it into something that isn't nearly as difficult to take care of as it sounds. I just don't want that to happen to you. I don't want you to go through so much pain, ya know?" Twilight nodded as if she understood what he was trying to say. Well, she did understand, but she was really starting to consider starting an argument.

"Whoever you choose, just know that nothing bad could result from a single vote in a small election in a small town in Ponyville." Twilight decided to calm down at that moment. She walked towards one of her book shelves, and examined the books as if to look pre-occupied. She then noticed one book titled "Myths, Legends, and Pony Tales". She took the book of the shelf, and started skimming through it. "Never thought I'd see the day you'd be looking through a book like that, Twilight."  
"Just curious, Spike. Besides, the tale of Nightmare Moon turned out to be true. Who's to say some other "myths" won't?"  
"Don't tell me you're gonna get paranoid again. I'm starting to get a headache from convincing you to be calm about the election." Twilight giggled, and turned back to the book.  
"Don't worry, Spike. You have no reason to be concerned."

"Good. Now, if you excuse me, I think I'm gonna take a nap. See you in a few hours, Twilight."  
"Happy sleeping, Spike."

"Never heard that one before."  
"Rough translation from a goodnight ponies used to say to the each other in the pre-Equestria era." He didn't respond. Twilight knew immediately he had fallen asleep. She was glad. Now, she had a chance to read in peach. As she continued to skim through the pages, she noticed a page entitled, "Betrayal of the Closest." While she preferred to read about happier tales, she read through the words of the page. The words described an ancient prophecy which read,

"_In this time and age, I sense a period of creation is at hand. Workers are constantly learning to make new devices and gadgets to improve society for all of our kind. I also sense the future holds the rise of a great kingdom that should bring this land together as one united society. How easily it shall fall. The destruction of the kingdom will result from a betrayal within. A close friend of the kingdom who seemed to only be assisting in continuing the creation process. Not halting it entirely. After his rule, the kingdom shall fall, and darkness will reign over the land again."_

Twilight quickly shut the book closed, and sat on the ground. The words chilled her to the bone. She tried to remind herself that this was just a myth. A prophecy probably told by some crazed old pony who was receiving "visions" from a schizophrenic companion. And yet, she couldn't deny an odd feeling she was having that maybe, just maybe,

The tale might come true.

Fluttershy smiled as she stared out a window in her small yet pleasant cottage home. Seeing Crusher earlier, while initially still feeling bitter at her, started to make her feel like she had been giving a reality check at that moment. _"He's been taken."  
"And that's okay."  
_While a realization she figured her 'consciences' would never have admitted had they been around, she knew it was something she would have to admit so she could go on. She hated the very thought of it. The first stallion she had a crush on…. No… The first stallion she truly loved was with Twilight. And there was no way things were going to change from that.

She was okay with that.

Absolutley okay.

She trotted outside, and took a glance at one of the posters near a building in town. She noticed a middle aged stallion with a bright smile on his face, contrasted by a scar on his eye. His face was mean, yet his smile almost eliminated that offness about him from her mind. She recognized the face from somewhere, but she couldn't remember where. Just then, a long line of images passed through her mind in an instant. She fell over at the shock.

"_No, that's impossible. It couldn't be. He lives in Canterlot." _

She then started to remember when she had snuck up to her mother's bed a long time ago when she was a filly. It was the day before she moved to Ponyville, and she had wanted to see, before it was trashed once and for all, the pictures of the father she never knew. She found the photo book, and skimmed through the pictures. Her father seemed like such a kind stallion, and from the pictures, no pony would ever have thought he would be somepony to abandon his wife and child. She ran to the other room, and had slowly let her tears run down her eyes as she thought about how much she wanted him to be around.

He looked older, but she could recognize the face from anywhere. That was her father.

In that moment, she had enough.

She grabbed the poster off of the wall, and stamped it repeatedly with her hooves. She bit the poster with her mouth, and tore it to pieces. She sat down, and started to cry. Thinking in her head,

"_Why dad,"_

"_why the hell did you have to come back now?"_

"_Why?"_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

I sat in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had definitely been a long afternoon. I had spent it cleaning, finishing my story so I could send it in to Twilight the next day, and cleaning up my house so that my mom would not die of horror from how messy it had looked before. I really wanted to go to bed. I felt tired, but my head was too lost in its thoughts to even consider wandering off into dream land.

Fluttershy's father was running for mayor.

If she had ever known her father, I imagined she would have been happy for her. She'd be by his side at every single campaign speech; he would be rubbing her soft mane every time he mentioned her name in his speeches. It would be an ideal father daughter thing.

But from what I could tell, Fluttershy knew next to nothing about her father.

She wouldn't recognize him on the campaign posters.

Unless, she had seen pictures of him.

Even though Fluttershy was very effeminate, every daughter needs a father in their life to make it complete. I could only imagine how alone Fluttershy must have felt sometimes at school. If my stereotype was correct, she'd be at home from school, her mother having not come home from work yet. She could have been picked on by the better flyers, and wouldn't have a father to comfort her, to tell her that everything was going to be okay, that she shouldn't worry about some things other ponies said. Fluttershy never had that component in her life.

I felt extremely bad for her at that moment.

If she did recognize him, would she be angry? Happy? A mixture of both? I could never tell.

But now I was worrying about things that were none of my business.

I threw my blanket over my head, vaguely hoping it would cloud my brain, and force me to go to sleep.

It didn't work.

I sighed, and started pacing back and forth next to my bed.

It was going to be a long night.

Twilight sat on her desk, writing down yet another letter to Princess Celestia. With the impending election in Ponyville, she had received a letter from her a few hours ago telling her to do a report on various elections in the history of Equestria, and how they had changed over the years. Her only real light was a candle dimly lit on her right side. The moon wasn't out tonight, so she had to make the best of what she had. Earlier that day, she heard that Herodius would be announcing the various ponies who had endorsed him tomorrow morning. She was curious as to which of her friends had decided to endorse him, and which had decided to stay loyal to the current mayor. While the election still intrigued her to a degree, she had convinced her that whatever she chose would not affect the mayor's friendship with her, or make Herodius force her to pay her debt otherwise. This calming relief allowed her to work without having to feel conflicted about every single decision she made in her lifetime.

The book she had read earlier. It had disturbed in a way that nothing else she read had. The feeling of horror was almost as terrifying as when she Nightmare Moon had appeared at the Summer Sun celebration, or when she had been sucked into an ancient underground cavern during the Royal Wedding of her brother, and former foal sitter Princess Cadence in Canterlot.

"_Let's just hope that was a one-time thing." _She told herself.

A chilling wind was blowing against her window that night. The sound that it made sounded like there was somepony outside who was trying to burst into her house. As the sound grew louder, she gave in. She used a spell she had recently learned to cancel all sound she could hear. The spell, of course, was temporary, and she deemed it useful to use when she needed some peace and quiet.

"_But Twilight," _Spike had asked her when she decided to learn it. _"Don't you find it at all creepy to not to be able to hear anything?"  
"Unlike you, Spike, I enjoy peace and quiet every now and then."  
"If you say so,"_

After a few minutes in writing in complete deafness, she started to understand what he meant.

She felt almost like she had been closed off from the rest of the world. That if something tried to get her at that moment, she would be completely vulnerable to whatever was out there. After she finished her report, she wrapped it in a parchment scroll, and stuffed it into her desk drawer. She cancelled her deafness spell right after that, preparing to finally get to bed that night.

As she did this, she heard a noise.

"_ROARRRRRRRR!"_

The sound was so shocking, so terrifying, she jumped right up in the air, and zoomed through the door. She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her until she crashed against Rarity's wall. She staggered back on her feet, and heard the door open before she fell on the ground.

"What was…. TWILIGHT! What happened darling?" The shock of the sound, and the hit against the wall had caused Twilight to become very delirious. She heard footsteps on the other side of her that turned out to be Spike's.

"Twilight, I heard you scream, what's wrong?" She then collapsed on the ground. The last words she thought were,

"_What,"_

"_was that?" _

Fluttershy knocked on the door of a rather old looking house. She didn't initially know the location, but after asking some ponies who had attended the speeches, she knew where to look.

She was going to confront her father about this.

She remembered a long time ago when she was barely a filly that her daddy had come back home to try to come back. But he had been rejected by her mother. She may have been very sweet and kind, but she held a grudge against her father that she held against no pony else in the world. After that, her mother had suggested they move to Ponyville. When she grew older, her mother decided to move back to Ponyville for reasons she neglected to tell Fluttershy.

"_Was it because she knew about my father moving to Ponyville?"  
"Or was it something else?"_

Fluttershy could not come up with an answer when she thought about it earlier in the day, so after gathering a huge amount of courage, she had decided to confront him. Most ponies would not be awake at this hour. But from the little bit of information she heard about him from her mother, he tended to stay up late working, or thinking about something of another. She heard footsteps walk up to the door, and it opened.

Her breath was almost taken away by the sight of her father who she had never gotten to meet in person until this day.

He had a meaner face than in the pictures like she saw on the poster, and his lack of a smile only elevated that fact.

But when her father saw her, he gasped, and a face of surprise flew across his face.

There was an awkward silence for about a minute. The only sound that could be heard was the occasionial cricket chirp. Her father than took a deep breath, and said in a voice she had never heard clearly before,

"Would you like to come in?"

His voice had a sliminess to it, which fit for how slimy he had been when he left her mother, but she merely nodded, and walked inside. Her father closed the door behind her, and walked over to where she was sitting on his couch. She saw various trinkets and ancient things from when he was a teenager all over his brown shelves. He turned towards her with a sad face, and said, "Whatever you are going to tell me, it can't be anything good."  
"Rightfully so. You left my mother."  
"I never imagined you to be so assertive my dear."  
"I don't usually like to be so harsh, but you….. You left me without a father!" She started to cry with this statement. Her father put his hoof on her back, and calmly stroked her soft fur.

"I am so sorry. But I doubt an apology will fix this. But let's face it. Why are you really here?"  
"I want to know two things."  
"What are they?"  
"Why are you running for mayor, and…"  
"And?"  
"Why did you move to Ponyville in the first place?"


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Herodius stared at his daughter. He gave his regular answer. "To put it shortly, after I confronted your mother about wanting to go back into your lives, and being rejected, I wanted nothing to do with Canterlot, so that is why I moved away."  
"Mom had the same idea."  
"Indeed she did. I was not aware she would do something like that, but that is indeed how it happened."  
"Can it really be that simple?"  
"I suppose there was one other thing that encouraged me to come here. Three of my friends from college had moved here, and I figured now I had a legitimate reason to go besides running from the past. But now that you have shown up, I see that is out of the question." He stood up from his side of the couch, and started straightening out the pictures he had on his shelf. It was beneficial to him since it was a nervous habit his daughter probably knew about, and, he would be able to avoid eye contact with her. "But, this isn't why you came, isn't it?"  
"Why are you running for mayor?"  
"Why darling, I was…."  
"Don't call me that. You have no right to call me, the daughter you abandoned, 'darling'." He still was not used to his daughter being this strict.

"I had forgotten how fierce you could get when you were angry."  
"How would you know that?"  
"When you were born, I remember hearing you were such a sweet foal when you were happy, but when angry, you would scream up a storm."  
"You're talking to me like I would let you back in again."  
"Of course not. I know that very well, Fluttershy."  
"But answer my question, for real this time."  
"Let me be honest with you. I have quite a reason to have power. We may live in a society where are ponies are treated as equals, but partially, this is the reason I did not decided to stay with your mother. I did not want limitations. I desired power over others, people coming to me, me being a savior, and eventually ruler of the people."  
"Why tell me this now?"  
"I never had a chance before."

"But you owe me."  
"Why would I?"  
"Oh, that's right, I kept myself hidden when I saw you earlier."  
"I haven't seen you recently, except for on your campaign poster!"  
I'm the psychiatrist who got rid of your 'conciences"." At that moment, Herodius witnessed his daughter's eyes widen, and she flew up from the couch. She collapsed on the ground, and started crying. He looked down upon her frail body, saw her slowly curl up into a fetal position. He leaned down to stroke her, and she winced.

"One good deed doesn't make you my father."  
"I saved your sanity. And if you're wondering, I didn't do this because I wanted power; I did this to help you. Don't you understand? I do love you Fluttershy. I want the world for you."  
"All I want…. Is a father who loves me, and won't leave me like the one who did so long ago." He sighed as she continued to bawl. He sat down next to her, and started to speak again.

"I may have urges for power, but I've changed, Fluttershy. I want to be the father you never had now. I've realized a long time from now how wrong I was when I left you and your mother alone. I should have been there for you. I promise we can change things back to the way they were." Tears started to flow from his eyes. "I want the best for you." He leaned his head down in sadness, and he felt his daughter's soft body wrap around him. She didn't say anything, just held him in a hug. At that moment, Herodius felt something he hadn't felt in a long time.

True happiness.

Twilight woke up in a bed she didn't recognize. She forced her eyes open, and looked around the lavishly decorated guest room. She noticed a fresh cup of orange juice, scrambled eggs on the stool next to her. For a second, she thought she might be in a dream. A fantasy world of sorts. Figuring she might as well enjoy it while it lasted, she leaned back against the soft pillow. _"It seems like a dream," _She thought to herself.

"_But why does it feel so,"_

"_real?"_

She slowly got out of bed and saw Rarity barge through the door. Rarity let out a sigh, and said,

"Oh my goodness, Twilight. I'm so glad you're awake. I was worried you had been hurt badly from…. Whatever it was you did last night."  
"I'm fine, really. Although I do have a little bit of a headache."  
"I don't want to pressure you Twilight, but what was going on back there? Why on earth would you run into a wall like that."  
"I can't explain it. Yesterday, I had read an ancient prophecy that said Equestria would be destroyed by somepony in a high position that everyone trusted, and then while I was writing a letter to Princess Celestia, I heard this huge roar."

"That is indeed odd. Was there anything inside your house when you ran?"  
"Nothing I could see."  
"Could it be…. An ancient spirit of some sorts? Something that has come to haunt you for doubting his prophecy?" Twilight almost burst out laughing.  
"Don't be silly, Rarity. There is no such thing as ghosts. Whatever it was that roared at me can probably be perfectly explained."  
"Don't be so sure, Twilight."  
"Maybe I fell asleep while writing and I had a nightmare that something roared at me."  
"Very possible indeed. If that were true, than we don't have to worry about it, right?"  
"Yes….. Wait, where's Spike?"  
"Oh, I let him spend the night with me in the boutique as well because he was worried about you." Rarity turned her head down the stairs, and called, "Spike! Twilight's awake now!"

"She is?" She saw her dragon friend rush upstairs toward her, and stand next to her bedside. "Oh Twilight, are you okay? I was so worried when I heard you scream, I thought something might have happened to you. I thought you may have been eat…." Twilight stuck her hoof into Spike's open mouth.

"I'm fine, Spike. I think I just had a bad dream."  
"Yeah, let's just hope this is the last one, alright?"  
"Definitley,"  
"Now darling, you better eat more of your breakfast. You'll starve, otherwise." Twilight nodded, and leisurely started eating her meal. As she tasted the food, she was able to stop thinking about her recent incident, and start thinking more pleasant thoughts. Rarity then inquired, "Are you ready to come downstairs, darling? Or are you fine for now?"  
"I'll come down in a minute." Rarity and Spike then exited the guest room. She walked over to the window, and stared outside. It was a bright, sunny day. But that roar kept crawling through her nerves, making her want to scream all over again.

How was she going to help herself now?

Herodius bid his daughter goodbye. As he had predicted the minute she entered his house, their first conversation was bitter, but he was able to put himself on good terms with her. He opened a hidden door in one of his walls, and walked down the dark, cold steps. He heard the murmurs of his friends.

"What took you sssso long?" One of them asked him.

"My daughter came to confront me about my past. Don't worry, I have made sure she will not be a problem any longer."  
"Excellent, than our plan will be able to commence without any obstacles?" Herodius took his seat at the round table, and let out a evil grin.

"Yes indeed,"


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

I forced my eyes open, looking around through the slits in my half closed eyes for my alarm clock. It hadn't rung yet, so I assumed this meant it was before 7:00 clock. When I noticed the clock, however, it read, "8:55 AM".

Suddenly overcome with a new source of energy, I jumped out of bed, blanket flying behind me, and ran to the kitchen. I assumed the reason my alarm had not rung yet was because I had forgot to reset it last night. I certainly was up long enough to do it, but I had spent the night thinking. Thinking about Fluttershy, not about my alarm clock.

Stupid mistake to be sure.

I raced back and forth, frantically trying to make the most appetizing meal I could come up with in a few minutes. I remembered that my parents generally showed up early for any event, no matter how inconvenient or silly it may seem. I questioned them why once, and my father grinned, and said,  
"Better to be early then late, I always say."

That didn't really make any sense to me. I thought, _"Why not just be on time?" _But now, I realized how much of an advantage it was to be early.

After dishing out several bowls of chicken soup onto the table in record time, I dashed to the clock near my bed. 8:58 AM.

I figured they would be arriving any second.

I ran up to the door, and waited for a door bell, or a knock to signify somepony had arrived.

_Knock, knock, knock._

I opened the door, and they were there.

Albeit, oddly dressed.

My mother was wearing a very fashionable dress with pink flowers scattered all over a light green color. My father was wearing a suit, complete with black tuxedo, and black buttons over his white coat.

I was surprised enough to forget to speak for a moment.

"Hello, dear." My mother said, sweetly.

This brought me back to reality, and I hugged them both. "It's really good to see you," I said.

"You to, son." My dad replied. "How've things been going here in Ponyville for you?"  
"Pretty well, all and all." I responded.

"Things going well between you, and your very special somepony?" I blushed beet red, and tried to change the subject.

"Why are you so well dressed? It's as if you'd be going to the Gala, or something."  
"Well, not quite the Gala, but still some place fancy." My mother said.

"Where would that be?"  
"The most fancy restaurant in Ponyville, Galalicious!" I shook my head at the title. It sounded so ridiculous, I wanted to hoof palm.

"I had no idea there was a place like that in Ponyville."  
"You must have been busy yesterday, huh?" My dad said. "When we came into town, some workers told us they were making this restaurant, sponsored by candidate for mayor, Herodius, so that the more fancy ponies would have a reason to visit."  
"I see," I muttered. Herodius was really starting to get around.

"But anyways, are you busy at all today?" Mom asked.  
"Well, not really."  
"Then maybe you could come and bring you're mare along."  
"Twilight?" I clarified.  
"Who else would we be talking about, son?"

"Yeah, good point."  
"It'd be a good chance for us to get to know her. After all, she must be a nice pony, right?"  
"Yeah, especially for her to go out with you." Any-old pony who was not used to someone like my dad would have felt offended. But he had said stuff like this to me all the time.  
"Yes, she is very nice. Okay, how 'bout this? I have to drop off a story I finished at her house, so when I give it to her, I'll ask her if she's interested. When did you get tickets to go?"  
"2:00,"

"Okay, got it, I'll be right back." I grabbed the final draft of my story, and ran to her house. When I got there, I noticed a note on the door. _"Today, not open 'till 9:05 AM."_ Just then, I heard my extremely loud alarm clock ring faintly in the distance. _"Oh boy," _I thought. _"Should have turned that off as soon as they came in." _At that moment, I noticed Twilight walking back to her house with Spike on her back.

"Oh, hi Crusher." She said. "Sorry the library was closed, but I had some complications last night."  
"Uh, okay." I said. "Sorry I didn't get this to you earlier, but here's the final copy of my story." I handed it to her. "If you think it's ready to publish, let me know."  
"Thanks. I'll be sure to do that."  
"And, I have one other question."  
"What?"  
"You see, my parents from Manehatten just came over to visit me, and they were wondering if you'd be able to come to the Galaicious place at 2:00 in the afternoon. They really want to meet you."  
"Okay, let me check my schedule." She ran through her door, taking off the note as she passed. However, she had not paid attention to Spike, who was not expecting her to run that fast, and he fell flat on his face. I started laughing, and he looked at me with an annoyed expression. After a few seconds of this, he cleared his throat and said, "So, Galalicious, huh?"  
"Yep,"  
"That's a really weird name for a restaurant."  
"It's a bad pun to."  
"Yeah, I mean really, if you're gonna name a restaurant with humor, at least make it well written humor, not some sort of cheesy title like that."  
"Definitley," At that moment, Twilight walked back out the door.

"Okay, I'm free. Is it okay if I bring Spike to?"  
"Sure, I mean, if he wants to go." We both looked at Spike. He shrugged, and said,  
"Okay, I'll go. But since this is such a fancy restaurant, they better have diamonds."  
"Alright, I'll see you then." I was about to run off, but then gave Twilight a quick kiss on the cheek. She blushed, and smiled back. I returned the favor, and ran back home. When I reached my home, my parents were both staring at me, looking comically angry. "What's wrong?"

"You left your alarm clock on."  
"And it rang while you were awake."  
"I knew you were forgetful sometimes, Crusher, but I had no idea you would forget to do something like that."  
"Yeah, sorry, but anyways, Twilight agreed to come."  
"That's great, now we get to see exactly how smart she is." I stared up at him, and he shrugged. "And, of course, what kind of a mare she is."  
"Yes indeed, but anyways, I'm famished, do you have something prepared for us to eat?"  
"Huh? Oh yes, of course, follow me." I walked them up to the table, and heard my father say,

"With such a string of good luck, I could imagine the restaurant collapsing on itself at 1:59 PM." He was only joking, but I felt sweat trickle down my brow.

If something bad like that happened,

I would have killed myself.

Fluttershy stretched out her hoofs, and slowly stepped out of bed. She trotted downstairs to prepare her breakfast. She took out a bowl of rice, and thoughtfully chewed on each individual piece. As she did this, she considered what her dad had said.

"_In one week, the election is happening. I trust that things will be quite busy by then. Why don't you ask your friends who they are voting for? We might be able to see where this election is heading, and whether I should drop out before I am humiliated."  
"Um, of course, would you like to meet them tomorrow?"  
"Of course I would, it would be very nice to get to meet more of the heroes of Equestria."_

She just hoped he wanted to see them for more reasons than that.

After last night, she had grown to trust her father. Not that he had exactly earned it, but the emotional pain from not having a father all this time had dawned upon her that night. She had a rather shocking confidence that he had really changed from before. After all, anypony could change who they were if they really were sorry.

After finishing the rice, she walked down the path towards Sweet Apple Acres. She assumed that her dad would probably already be there buying breakfast. When she got close enough to see him, she said to herself,

"_Now, just remember, he's not who he was, he's a good pony now, he's not who he was, he's a good pony, he's not who he was….."_

"_He's a good pony?"_


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It had been a good day up to that point. I couldn't imagine anything bad having happen.

For the next few hours, I had spent the time talking to my parents, catching up on things that had happened during the time I was gone, and things that had happened to me while I was in Ponyville. I left out the ordeal with Fluttershy, as I thought this would have just made a good day turn sour.

After catching up on things, we had decided to take a quick trip to the arcade. I had been aware of mom's amazing video game skills for years, but I had no idea she could beat my dad at a rail shooter.

Good times.

Finally, the clock had turned to 1:50 PM, and we were getting ready to go to the restaurant. I was trying to debate whether Twilight was going to be early or not, but I knew for sure that if I didn't get my suit on quicker, my parents would have soon been on my back, chewing me out for making them late. After sticking the suit on, I let out a sigh, and cleared my throat. _"Okay," _I thought.

"_Here it goes." _

I ran down the stairs, and met my parents. Suddenly, my dad gasped as if he was having a heart attack. My mom ran up to him, looking like she was about to do CPR, while I stated, with concern with my voice, "You okay, dad?" Just then, he coughed one more time, and then burst out laughing, as if someone had just cracked out the most hilarious joke in history. My mom looked at him; a face that looked like it was ready to scold him. I just wiped the sweat that had crept up on my face.

"I can't believe you two fell for that!"  
"Don't do it again, you scared me half to death!" Mom exclaimed.

"But it was funny, wasn't it son?"  
"Maybe just a little bit, but next time you crack a joke, try something that isn't so scary."  
"The daring jokes are the funny jokes," He then adjusted his suit, and walked out the door. "Well," he muttered, "time to enter hell." I was almost surprised at his comment. I felt like bursting out in anger. And yet, my dad had shown that much pessimism before. It would seem odd to break into anger at him so suddenly. So, I just followed him up the path, my mother close behind, muttering,

"Dad,"  
"I know, I know, it wasn't that funny. But I was on a roll!"  
"Don't act like you're a comedian. You might scare Twilight." That caused my dad to burst out into laughter all over again.

"Who knew you could be funny sometimes, Crusher?"  
"You knew."  
"No I didn't," he argued.

"Yes you did."

"Quiet down, you're making a scene." At that moment, we noticed various towns' folk staring at us, as if it was their job to stare. I reluctantly turned away, and he did the same. After a few more minutes of silently walking down the road, we finally reached the restaurant. My dad let out a dry comment.

"And I thought the name was bad. The décor is even worse."  
"Since when could you judge décor?"  
"Never," We walked inside the restaurant, and we were shocked by what we saw. Apparently, we weren't the only ones who had decided to go the restaurant. There were tables all over the restaurant, leaving barely any room to walk. A red curtain lay stretched across these empty spaces, and the walls were decorated with red hearts, almost in the style of a deck of cards. The seats were made out of fresh carved mahogany from what I could tell, and the tables were made out of the same substance. We took a look around, and after a few seconds of this, we finally noticed her sitting at one of the larger tables, Spike next to her with an annoyed expression on his face. We walked over to the table, and sat down.

"Hello? You must be Crusher's parents, it's so nice to meet you."  
"Oh yes, it's nice to meet you to," my mother responded. "Crusher told us so much about you.

"None of the bad parts, I hope." My dad let out a chuckle at this. However, he quickly cleared his throat, and said,

"When Crusher told us about you, he was under exaggerating you." Twilight giggled at his odd usage of words, and I just rolled my eyes.

"So, how was the trip over?"  
"Oh, it was horrid." My dad said matter-of-factly. Having let this comment settle in for a few seconds too long, I cleared my throat, and said,  
"It couldn't have been _that _bad."  
"No, but it's the longest trip I've ever taking. You have to look at things relatively. Your mother and I HATE long trips. Don't we dear?"  
"I wouldn't say hate, more like, despise with a passion."  
"That's hating, dear."  
"Trying to use less fierce words, darling." They then started laughing at this. I turned my head to the side, and noticed a waiter walk to our table, take the "reserved" sign off of it, and then took a look at us with small beady eyes that did not look natural.

"Bonjour, may I take your orders?" He asked in one of the most fake French accents I had ever heard.

"I don't know I'm not all that hungry…." My dad said. "Bring me the cheapest dinner course you got." He turned his head towards the rest of us.

"And you four?"  
"Do you guys have any gem stones?" Spike asked.

"Hm….. Yes, we do. But it is a side dish in our most expensive meal. Are you sure you can pay for it?" Twilight nodded.

"I'll pay for it, sir."  
"Alright then, how about you, madam?"

"I'll just take a flower sandwich covered with mayo." The waiter stared at her. "Manehatten language for a daisy sandwich covered with mayo, and French bread." He nodded, and turned to me and Twilight. "What about you two?"

"Cinnamon rolls," We both said in unison. The waiter raised his right eyebrow, and we let out a blush.

"Alright then, how many?"  
"Six," Blush again. The waiter slowly nodded his head as he wrote down the orders, and left the table. I could vaguely hear him mumbling,

"How much time do zey actually spend together?" I almost blushed again, but didn't let it out this time. After he had gone through the "employees only" door, we returned to talking.  
"Wow, I had no idea you two had actually done, um, something like that together….." My dad began.

"NO, NO, NO, it's nothing like that." We said at the same time. At this, my dad burst out into laughter, and my mom let out an uneasy chuckle.  
"Wow, I can't believe how easy it is to knock the truth out of you two."  
"Honestly, Mr. Twindler." Twilight said formally. "We haven't been engaged in any more than a passionate kiss. We don't even sleep together."  
"Phew, that's a relief." My mom sighed.

"Well, I'm glad you've remained pure." Dad then turned his head, as if to change subject, and then stared right at Spike. "I had no idea dragons lived in ANY town in Equestria."  
"Spike's a special exception. Don't worry, he's tame."  
"Yeah, the only thing I'm ravenous about is eating." He said with a grin.

"You look like a baby dragon, but you act like an emo teenager."  
"Should I be intimidated by that statement, sir?"  
"Maybe,"  
"Well, we'll see who's intimidated more when I let out my roar!" He then took in a huge breath, and let out as big a roar as he could. Which was sadly for him, rather pathetic. My dad started laughing once again.  
"I was teasing, son. Don't worry, you'll get used to it."  
"Yeah right, I knew I was sarcastic, but I've never seen somepony up to this level."  
"So," Twilight stammered as if to change the subject. "How do you like Ponyville so far?"  
"It's great; the towns ponies have been nice so far." My mother said.

"Yeah, 'cept for the ones who were staring."

"Shush!"

"Just sayin'." My dad defended.

"But anyways, have you been able to publish any books of his?"  
"Oh, I'm in the middle of reviewing his final copy of his first story. But from what I've read so far, if it gets published, I'm sure it will be great."  
"THAT'S my boy," My dad said as he patted me on the back. "Cue the chandelier falling on top of the table." I gazed up at the bright lights on the fancy chandelier above us. I tried not to focus on it, but I could have sworn it seemed a bit looser than the others.  
_"Yeah right," _I thought. _"That chandelier is not going to fall. You're letting yourself get too worried over nothing."_ Up to that point, I had been paranoid about almost everything that was going to happen today. Finally, I decided to stop worrying about everything.

Just then, the waiter came walking towards our table, but accidentally tripped on some food that had been dropped on the floor, and the plates went flying. Right towards our table.

I only had enough time to think two words before the food covered our clothes.

"_Oh boy,"_

Fluttershy turned up to her father as he let out a smile. "Good morning, sweetie. You never told me you had such a charming southern pony as one of your friends."  
"Yep, your old stallion's one hay 'uv a nice pony. Why didn't you ever tell us 'bout him before?"  
"Well, I never thought about it I guess."  
"But don't worry; now I'm going to be around a lot more often. Especially with the election campaign coming soon."

"Who are you going to vote for, Applejack?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, I've never been much for politics, but from what I've seen from your daddy's speeches, I'm pretty sure I'm voting for him."  
"What about the rest of us?"  
"Oh, they decided to vote for him right after they heard his first speech. I figure I might as well go right along with them."  
"It is nice of you indeed to support me. I know my decision to suddenly start a campaign was sudden, but…."  
"Don't you worry your head about it, no harm no foul."  
"Good, now Fluttershy dear, have you heard about the restaurant that opened in support of my campaign down the road?"  
"Um, yes." She stammered.  
"They are having some sort of party tonight from what my manager told me. Something about a dance, or what not."  
"Yeehaw! Now that sounds like my kind of party!"  
"From what I heard, Ms. Applejack, the dance may be more formal."  
"Aw, shucks. That's just plain boring."

"Maybe, but there may be a hoe-down happening after I speak at the party tonight, so maybe that would give you some reason to go, hm?"  
"Well, I suppose I could go, 'long as I get enough of these apples picked for the customers tomorrow." Just then, Herodius pulled out a pocket watch, and checked the time.  
"I apologize for having to do this, but I have to leave. My manager's expecting me. Goodbye, Ms. Applejack. It was a pleasure to meet you."  
"You to, see ya later!" Fluttershy then watched him walk down the path. "Aw shucks, he is such a cool pony, it's no wonder he's running for mayor. Although, the current mayor does have some support behind her. You think he's gotta chance, Fluttershy?" She looked up towards the sky. Dark clouds were starting to cover the sunny sky. She turned back towards Applejack, and finally said,

"Yes, I'd say he's got a pretty big chance."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Except, the food didn't cover the clothes we were wearing.

I moved my hoof off of my eyes, and glanced at what had happened.

Twilight had been able to levitate all of the food away from us, and neatly placed it back on our table.

"_Wow," _I thought.

"_She's cute and clever." _

The waiter sighed in relief as he noticed this occur. He stuck out his hoof, asking for a paycheck. My father, mother, and Twilight each gave him some money. After counting the amount in his hand to make sure it was accurate, he stuck it inside a pocket in his suit, and walked back through the "employees only" door.

It was then we resumed talking.

"Wow, Twilight," my dad said. "I can't thank you enough. We nearly lost our dinner on our plates, quite literally." This brought out a chuckle from all of us.

"Oh, it was nothing. After all, we unicorns should use the magic we are given to help others."  
"Definitely," My mother said, excited. We then started to eat our food. Despite our rather simplistic orders, this was some of the most delicious food I had ever tasted. The rest of the ponies at the table seemed to agree as well.

"You know," my dad said quietly so only us at the table could hear. "The presentation sucks, but the food is delicious."  
"You can say that again," I continued.  
"Should I?" He questioned.

We continued our dinner in silence, not exactly knowing what to talk about or discuss. After the food was finished, another waiter came towards our table, and took the crumby plates to clean.

"So," Mom perked up. "How was each of your meals?" A question she probably knew our answers for already.  
"It was delicious." Twilight said. "Some of the best food I've ever tasted for sure."  
"Me as well," My dad said casually.

"We all did," We concluded in unison.  
"I see," Mom said, happily. "Well, I'm glad we got to meet you, Twilight. I can see Crusher's very lucky to have somepony as pretty, kind, and smart as you." Twilight blushed, but before she could speak, dad let out,

"Tell me about it."  
"Oh, I'm glad to see I don't displease you too much. I had a very nice time, and it's good to meet you both."  
"You to," Dad grinned back. "Well, we'll see you later. We've got to be getting back home. See you some other time, Twilight."  
"You to, Mr. Twindler." Twilight said with a smile as she walked out the door.

I stood, watching her graceful motion of walking that I had never noticed before. After she closed the door behind her, my dad bonked me on the head as he shook his head, saying, "You are way too smitten with that mare." He sighed as he finished, "But I'm glad you found somepony to love in this town."  
"Thanks dad," I said as I hugged him.

"Okay," he cleared his throat as he pushed me away. "That's enough mushy gushiness for me in one day." I laughed, and we continued to talk as we walked down the path towards home. I gazed up at the sunset, clouds darkening the majority of it, almost as if it was going to rain. I smiled as I thought,

"_Even rain couldn't bring down a day as good as this."_

Twilight happily galloped home, glad that the date had gone well. She had been concerned what Crusher's parents might be like when she first thought about meeting them, but after seeing them for herself, she realized, while eccentric, his parents were really nice people. His father's sarcasm actually reminded her of Spike on occasion.

"I noticed you didn't say much," She said to Spike, who was still sitting on her back. "Did you have a good time?"  
"I did, really Twilight, but that guy's dad looked like he was giving me a death glare through the whole dinner after the first time I spoke. If I had said something else, it would have shown I had weakness.

"Oh brother,"  
"It's not that weird. Haven't you ever had a rival?"  
"Not really,"  
"Then no wonder you don't understand!" He huffed, and then turned towards his side, staring at the strange shadows that seemed to have been cast along the walls. Twilight, however, did not notice, and continued to walk in silence.

Silence.

"_It's only sunset," _She thought to herself. _"Where is everypony?"_ She turned towards Spike, and he seemed to notice how strange everything seemed all of a sudden as well.

"Twilight," Spike stammered.

"What is it, Spike?"  
"This doesn't feel right. Like, where is everypony? Why are the shadows casting along the wall not logical? Why do the dark clouds up in the sky feel so close to the ground?" Twilight checked each thing Spike seemed to be seeing, and all of it was true.

"You're right, something odd is going on here."  
"Maybe you should try your fail safe spell."  
"You're right. If unicorn magic is involved here, I may be able to stop it." She stepped both of her hooves down on the ground hard, Spike sliding off of her back. Her horn started glowing with purple magic. Spike made a motion with his hands for her to continue the spell, as he seemed to notice the world starting to change back to normal. Just then, Spike witnessed Twilight make a horrible transformation. She let out a scream, and her shape was morphed into that of a pony-sized manticore. It bared its teeth at Spike, but then merely fell over on top of him. He let out a yelp, but fell unconscious soon after this. The world around them morphed back to the way it was when they first started their way home as a strange black-hooded figure grabbed the pair, and ran down a wooden door, disguised as a cellar that was actually a passage to an underground chamber.

One of the town's ponies, whose name was Rose Bud, ran over, thinking she had hear something. She turned in all directions, but could see no sign of anypony having been there.

"Oh, guess I was hearing things." She then continued walking down the dusty road.

Fluttershy watched the sun set in the distance. She knew in a few hours, her father's speech would be held at the Galalicious, and she needed to prepare. The day had been normal for her, other than her conversation with her father and Applejack. She had taken care of her animals, said hello to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and bought some medication for one of her sick animals from the pet pharmacy. Nothing special, nothing new.

She felt, however, that something odd was going to happen very soon.

She didn't know what, but it was a feeling she had been getting since her "consciences" had been destroyed.

"_It could just be jitters." _She tried to calm herself by thinking this. _"Maybe I'm catching a cold because the weather's starting to cool down."_ But she couldn't be sure on this either.

Not seeing anything else to do, she decided to walk down to the restaurant, wondering if setting up for the party had started yet. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a maître de, who politely explained,

"The party doesn't start for another two hours, madam, please come then."  
"But, I um, am Herodius' daughter."  
"Oh," He said, almost jumping out of his suit. "I had no idea, pardon my manners. We are a bit busy right now. Please, come in." She walked inside the restaurant, and what she saw looked like a disaster. Waiters were frantically running around the dining hall, accidentally dropping plates of food on the floor, two part time workers were trying, but failing to put up a banner that said, "Welcome Ponyville's mayor-to-be, Herodius!", and three other stallions were having a hard time dragging the sound system onto the small stage on the right side of the room. It wasn't exactly what Fluttershy was expecting to see out of the prep crew.

"It looks rather disorganized right now, madam. But have no fear, we will definitely have it read for your father's speech, tonight."  
"Well, thanks for working so hard on it."  
"But, it is nothing. The very reason we got these jobs is because your father created the restaurant. We owe him our new employment status!"

"How did he afford to pay for the restaurant?" The maître de turned both ways, almost as if he had something to hide. He then whispered into her ear,

"He has a friend, who I heard is originally from Canterlot. He is very rich, and offered a loan to him, provided his campaign would be successful."  
"I see," Fluttershy nodded.

"Yes, but do not worry, your father will definitely have the money to pay him back, provided he wins his campaign. But from the looks of things, he will do that." She nodded again to the stallion, as she watched a waiter spill soap on the floor, slipping on the now wet floor.  
"I just hope the extra workers come in time. It's as if these waiters haven't worked a day in their lives." He then ran out to try to deal with the newly arising problems. Fluttershy let out a gasp of breath, and looked towards the right door. She heard mumbled voices that she could not distinguish from each other. She got closer, and was only able to get out,

"Don't "mumble" me! You're- before I- he gets back, you'll-. Wait while-"She then heard quiet all at once. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. She then heard a loud and clear voice that was clearly her father's saying, "Don't worry, I'll be out in a minute." Fluttershy shook her head as she walked back towards the dining hall.

"_The maître de acted like my father hadn't come yet."  
"So, why is he here now?"_


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

With tears in my eyes, I waved goodbye as my parents rode back towards their home in Manehatten. They had originally planned to stay until 10:00 PM, but when my dad received a call saying he had urgent business to take care of back at his job, they tearfully left. With the exception of the teary-eyed ending, I quickly decided that the day had gone just as well as I had hoped it to be.

I slid into my desk, trying to think of what to do with the rest of the day. I looked up towards my clock. 8:00 PM. While rather early to turn in for the night, I was very tired, and my story probably wouldn't be published until tomorrow. Besides, at that moment I had no idea what to write for another story, so I jumped into bed, and let my eyes close as I wandered off to sleep.

Twilight slowly opened the door to the front hallway right next to the exit out of Galaicious. If anything, she had not been suspecting to be here of all places today, but the circumstances were so dire, she would climb up a mountain in the middle of a blizzard to prevent what might happen if she didn't. She walked down the hall, and turned towards the dining hall. Deliberately ignoring the mess of a preparation crew, she walked straight up to Fluttershy and asked, "Hi, so, how's the preparation…"

She took a pause when she intentionally started to notice the chaos going on in the dining room. While it was insignificant compared to what was going on earlier, it was still suprising for such a fancy restaurant to have such a terrible preparation crew.

"going?" She half-heartedly finished.

"Yes, well it could be better. But my father has everything under control." Twilight could tell she was forcing a smile.

"_Not quite everything," _She thought to herself.

"So, how was earlier today? I heard you got to meet Crusher's parents? How was it?"  
"It went really well. They turned out both to be very nice people. Even if his father was a bit sarcastic sometimes."  
"Oh yes, I'm so glad for you to." Twilight noticed her hesitating, and she looked away.

"I'm so sorry; I shouldn't have brought it up. I forgot you might still be dealing with…"  
"I'm fine. Really, I'm glad that you two have gotten together. It just takes a little adjusting having feelings for somepony you will never get to be with." She was obviously being literal, not sarcastic. But Twilight still couldn't help feeling bad about bringing the issue up. Although she wasn't the one who mentioned the dinner, she knew bringing up them dating was a misfire on her account.

"Are you going to the speech tonight?" Fluttershy inquired.

"Yup, 'got my tickets earlier today and I can't wait to see what your father says tonight."  
"Oh, that's wonderful, Twilight. Have you decided who you are going to vote for?"  
"Well, honestly, I don't know yet. I mean, I was set on your father for a little while, but then I felt like I should see what he says during his speech before making any final decisions."  
"That makes sense. You should never judge a book by its cover."  
"That's for sure." Twilight said. Suddenly, one of the chefs let out a bark, yelling,

"HEY! You're not supposed to be here! Only the preparation crew and the candidate are supposed to….." After taking a quick examination of Twilight, he gasped, and recovered by saying, "Oh, NOW I know who you are. Eh heh, sorry for blowing up on you like that." He then ran back to the rest of the preparation crew.

"That was odd," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, I guess he must have forgotten your father let me in here earlier."  
"Oh, well that does explain why you were allowed in here."  
_"She was wondering to?" _Twilight said to herself. _"Good thing I was able to come up with a cover-up story."_

Just then, a maître' de walked up to Fluttershy, and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, and then said to Twilight,

"I've gotta go. They want me to get into some sort of fancy dress for the speech tonight. I'll see you later, Twilight."  
"You to," Twilight waved as Fluttershy was dragged into the dressing room. She looked off towards one of the rooms, and saw it crack open. Knowing who it was, she walked inside, and came face to face with the shadowy figure she wished she had never met.

"You did well out there," He said in his deep, bellowing voice. "However, you were awfully close to giving away your real reason for being here early. It is lucky I was able to sway that stallion's mind away, otherwise you would have been caught for sure."  
"This can't last forever. I can't let you keep us both under such tight conditions! When you lose your guard, I'll find a way to stop you."  
"There is no one to turn to. You already know what happens if you decide to go against me. I'm watching every step you take from now on."  
"I'm aware of that. By the way, you didn't kill him, did you?"  
"No, no, I was considering it after you nearly goofed up, but I realized I could still use you. Keep in mind; he isn't the only one you'll lose if you disobey me." He then leaned into Twilight's ears.

"Everypony you hold dear, including Crusher."  
"NO!" She yelled almost loud enough to be heard outside. "There is no way you could kill him. You, you haven't even kidnapped him."  
"There are many things I have done that you are not completely aware of. The history that lead to the opening of this restaurant, and even the esteemed mayor's election is quite an interesting tale. However, it is a tale that you don't need to know now." He then pointed a boney finger towards the door. "Go back and keep my cover safe. If you fail me again, I will have to take desperate measures. And don't forget," He then tossed her a vial of green liquid. "All of Ponyville is in danger as well."

Twilight walked out of the room, and took a look at the vial. Just then, she saw the running mayor walk onto the stage, talking to his campaign manager. She stared at him, and felt a tear coming to her eye. She quickly shook it off, and thought to herself,

"_Todays the day,"  
"Todays the day Herodius dies."_

_I apologize to the people still reading my story for taking so long with this chapter. I'll try to keep up better. And, please see my Hyouka story if you haven't already._


End file.
